Figure SkatingShort Programme and Free Skate: Different Tasks, One Result
The two segments provide different opportunities and constraints, with the final ranking depending on their combined outcome.
THE READING ROOM
A closer look at the game
303 stories about sport and the people who shape it. Go deeper into a favourite discipline or discover something new.
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Figure SkatingEdges and Steps: Figure Skating's Underlying Language
The movement between major elements reveals control, continuity and the quality of a skater's basic technique.
Figure SkatingHow to Read an Official Figure Skating Score Sheet
A careful reading separates what was attempted, what was credited and how well the recognised content was performed.
Speed SkatingIreen Wüst: Consistency Across Olympic Cycles
Wüst's achievements across distances and generations show how efficiency, pacing and adaptation support a long competitive career.
Speed SkatingSven Kramer: A Lesson in Distance Pacing
Kramer's long-distance races show how small, controlled advantages accumulate over many technically demanding laps.
Speed SkatingZhang Hong: China's Long-Track Olympic Breakthrough
Zhang's Sochi gold is an opportunity to distinguish long-track speed skating from its short-track relative.
Speed SkatingLong-Track Lanes: Why Skaters Change Sides
Lane changes balance the different distances of inside and outside bends and belong to the race's essential execution.
Speed SkatingThe 500 Metres: From Start to High-Speed Skating
A short race still contains distinct technical phases, with each transition affecting the speed that follows.
Speed SkatingDistance Speed Skating: Why Even Laps Matter
The central contest is maintaining effective technique at an ambitious pace, rather than simply leading at the first split.
Speed SkatingTeam Pursuit: Turning Individual Speed into a Shared Result
A fast team needs coordinated spacing and a pace that every member can sustain, not merely three strong individual times.
Speed SkatingMass Start: Tactics on the Long Track
Shared ice, intermediate sprints and finishing positions create a different contest from paired time-trial racing.
Speed SkatingBlades and Posture: Where Skating Efficiency Comes From
Long-track equipment and technique work together to convert repeated pushes into sustained forward speed.
Speed SkatingSpeed Skating and Short Track: Different Racing Logic
The size of the track and the way results are decided separate two sports with shared ice-skating foundations.
Sport ClimbingJanja Garnbret: Finding the Complete Solution
Garnbret's boulder and lead performances connect strength with footwork, coordination and rapid understanding of unfamiliar movement.
Sport ClimbingAdam Ondra: Competition Climbing and Natural Rock
Ondra's career helps distinguish common climbing skills from the different goals and measures used indoors and outdoors.