Every four years, for roughly three weeks, American society is enthralled with figure skating. The costumes, artistry, drama and of course the sport, captivate American audiences during every Olympics. However, after the three magical weeks are over, life goes back to normal. For the American public, skating is put on the back burner for another four years.
I started figure skating when I was four years old. From early childhood through high school, I spent a lot of my time inside the rink. Like anyone who spends more than 10 years actively taking part in a competitive sport, I will forever feel a connection to the sport I love. It bothers me that during each winter Olympics, Americans suddenly decide they are figure skating fans and only watch the sport for its brief moment in the spotlight. Nevertheless, the heightened attention the sport receives during this time is important in the maintenance of the sport.
The three-week duration of the Olympics marks the only time when Americans only give figure skating the attention it deserves. Despite the sport’s popularity during the Olympics, the U.S. has experienced a “medal drought” in figure skating over the past several years. Though Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the ice dancing competition at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, and Evan Lysacek won a gold medal in men’s singles at the Vancouver Olympics in 2010, U.S. skaters have not returned to a time where they have consistently swept the podiums at international events like the Olympics.
Take for example Dick Button, who is a legend in the world of American figure skating. Button became the first American figure skater to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in the men’s singles competition—in 1948 and 1952, respectively. In the 1956 Olympics, American skater Hayes Alan Jenkins won the gold in Men’s Singles and Tenley Albright won the gold in women’s singles. Four years later in 1960, the Americans won gold again with David Jenkins (men’s singles) and Carol Heiss (women’s singles) winning the gold. In later years, the U.S. skaters continued to dominate, winning more medals.
In the past couple of years, though, Russia, Japan, and Canada have topped the podiums of each discipline.
To make it to the Olympics is a lifelong dream for many athletes. In the U.S., where the competition is tough in comparison to other countries which have fewer figure skaters, it is extremely difficult to qualify for an Olympic games. The qualification process for U.S. figure skaters is based on the decisions of a committee put together by U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body that regulates the sport in the United States. To put it simply, the committee bases its decisions on the skaters’ performances and placements at that year’s U.S. National Championships and the prior year’s major international events. Depending on prior international placements of U.S. skaters, the U.S. is allocated a specific number of Olympic spots they can fill in each discipline. Even before the start of this year’s winter games, the U.S. proved its international dominance and potential to win more Olympic medals in all four disciplines of figure skating after being allotted more spots for U.S. figure skaters. At this year’s games, the U.S. was given three spots for both Men’s and Women’s singles, three spots for Ice Dancing, and one spot for Pairs.
Given the increase in the number of U.S. figure skaters being sent to the Olympics this year, the end of the medal drought may be in sight. Additionally, the inclusion of the team figure skating event, which was introduced for the first time at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, added to the United States’ collection of medals. The team event adds up points based on the performance of individual skaters in different disciplines, and this year, the U.S. defended the bronze medal they won in 2014. The team event consisted of Adam Rippon and Nathan Chen in Men’s singles, Mirai Nagasu and Bradie Tennell in Women’s singles, siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani in Ice Dancing, and Alexa Scimeca Knierim and Chris Knierim in Pairs.
While each U.S. skater in the team event contributed to the winning of the bronze medal, it seemed to be the stellar performances of skaters Adam Rippon, siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani, and Mirai Nagasu that especially increased the United States’ chances for winning another bronze in the team event. In particular, Nagasu added a large amount of points to the team’s final score by becoming the first U.S. woman to successfully complete the triple axel, which virtually no other woman in the field in this Olympics is attempting to execute.
In addition to the complicated new scoring system possibly contributing to figure skating’s dwindling in popularity, American figure skating’s popular past included more drama and politics as well as the winning of more olympic medals.
Following the 1994 Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding incident in which Tonya Harding was accused of hiring her ex-husband to bash Nancy Kerrigan’s knee before the National Championships – which almost prevent her from qualifying for that year’s Olympics (this was also the event upon which the 2017 film I, Tonya is based) 48.5 million TV viewers watched Olympic figure skating, making it the third-highest rated sporting event after Super Bowl XVI and Super Bowl XVII, according to a CNN report. In comparison, the 2014 Sochi Olympics’ 21.5 million viewers presents a large gap in viewership. While the publicity of the Harding/Kerrigan scandal definitely contributed to the popularity of the sport in 1994, throughout the late 90s and early 2000s, the US figure skaters’ domination of the international scene was able to help them make their way into mainstream American media. Skaters such as Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski, Sarah Hughes, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Sasha Cohen became household names, comparable to popular athletes today like Michael Phelps, Aly Raisman, and Simone Biles. During the Olympics that took place in the ‘90s and early 2000s, figure skaters’ were plastered on cereal boxes and featured in advertisements. They performed in professional ice shows that toured around America, wrote bestselling books, and some even took part in Dancing with the Stars.
A key member of this 1990 early 2000 star group is Michelle Kwan. Virtually every American, whether they watch figure skating or not, has heard her name. As a two time Olympic medalist and five-time world champion, Michelle Kwan was, and to many, still is, the face of American figure skating, and during her peak popularity, she was the country’s most popular female athlete. Since Kwan’s retirement from competitive figure skating more than 10 years ago, no skater in the U.S. has won as many medals or become as prominent of an ambassador for the sport. While the likelihood of another American figure skater becoming as successful as Michelle Kwan in the next couple of years is quite unlikely, there are already signs of a reemergence of American interest in figure skating. According to CNN and Google Trends, this year’s Olympics have seen an increasing interest in figure skating among the American Public. Out of all of the winter sports googled throughout the past 12 months, “figure skating” has been the most popular. Again while this popularity of figure skating is seen only within the context of the Winter Olympics, the popularity of skaters during this Olympics – skaters including Adam Rippon, Nathan Chen, siblings Maia and Alex Shibutani and Mirai Nagasu – seems to show hope in bringing figure skating into the mainstream once again.
Whether they earn medals or not, hopefully the performances of the members of Team USA during this Olympics will encourage Americans to continue watching the sport all year long. Whatever happens at this Olympic games, each American skater shows great promise and hope in reviving the American legacy in the sport of figure skating.
