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Figure skating in the 19th century was literally about carving intricate patterns on the ice while maintaining balance. However, creative skaters soon began introducing jumps into their routines, and these challenging aerial feats quickly became the highlight of the performances.
The axel was invented in 1882 by Norwegian speed skater Axel Paulsen. Out of the six jump types in figure skating, the axel stands out as the only one where the skater takes off from a forward motion. In a single axel, the skater gains speed, launches off one skate’s forward outside edge, rotates 1.5 times in the air, and lands on the opposite skate’s outside edge. The landing foot absorbs impact forces 8 to 10 times the skater's body weight. A double axel includes 2.5 rotations, while a triple axel involves . (A triple axel is valued at 8.5 points in the base score, while a double earns just 3.3 points.)
The axel has become an essential part of modern figure skating routines—it’s nearly impossible to win a medal without it. Top male skaters regularly land triple axels, while most elite female skaters perform doubles. Only a few women have completed a triple axel in Olympic competition—Japanese skaters Midori Ito in 1992 and Mao Asada in 2010 and 2014, and now, American skater Mirai Nagasu at the 2018 Winter Games.
To the untrained observer, it might seem like the human equivalent of spinning a coin on its edge. However, the physics, skill, and preparation behind it make it one of the most challenging feats in the Games.
Perfecting a double or triple axel requires athletes and their coaches to focus on biomechanics. Inertia, or the distribution of body mass in space, influences how quickly they can spin in the air. By minimizing their body size, skaters increase their chances for faster rotation. They also need to consider the weight of their attire, ensuring it doesn’t hinder their performance. Nagasu’s team reduced the rhinestones and even calculated the weight of the glue to prevent any extra ounces from slowing her down.
By landing the triple axel, Nagasu has also challenged the belief that women have a built-in disadvantage: With their typically wider hips and chests, body contraction for spinning is more difficult for them.
Perceived barriers in sports—such as the belief that running a four-minute mile was impossible—are often broken by determined athletes who defeat pessimism through relentless practice. While early 20th-century skaters performed single axels, American gold medalist Dick Button made history by landing the first double axel at the Winter Olympics in 1948. Canadian Vern Taylor landed the first triple axel at the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships. Today, the world’s top skaters are performing quadruple backward-takeoff jumps.
