Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics

Figure skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The events took place between February 14 and February 27, 2010. Skaters from around the world competed in different categories, showing their skills in jumping, spinning, and dancing on ice.

Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo from China won the gold medal in pairs skating. This was special because it was the first time since 1960 that a team from Russia, the Soviet Union, or the Unified Team did not win the gold medal in pairs skating. Their performance was remembered as one of the best in the history of the sport.

Qualification

To take part in the 2010 Winter Games, skaters had to be older than fifteen as of July 1, 2009 and had to be citizens of the country they were representing. For pairs or ice dance couples, both skaters needed to be citizens of the same country. Also, they needed to wait at least three years since they last represented another country.

There was no way for individual skaters to qualify for the Olympics. Each country's National Olympic Committee chose which skaters to send.

The number of skaters in each event was set by the International Olympic Committee. There were 30 skaters in ladies' and men's singles, 20 pairs, and 24 ice dance couples.

Countries could get spots in two ways. The host country got one spot in each event if it hadn’t already qualified. Most spots were decided at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, where countries could qualify up to three spots in each event.

The remaining spots were decided at the 2009 Nebelhorn Trophy in fall 2009. Countries that already had spots could not get more at this event. If a country did not use its spot, the empty spot was given based on the Nebelhorn Trophy results.

Competition schedule

All times are Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8).

Medal summary

Medal table

Medalists

At the 2010 Winter Olympics, figure skating competitions were held at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, from February 14 to February 27. The pairs skating event was won by Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo from China, who took home the gold medal.

Entries

Records and firsts

The following new ISU best scores were set during this competition:

Other records and firsts:

• Kim Yuna's gold medal was South Korea's first Olympic medal in figure skating.
• Daisuke Takahashi's bronze medal was Japan's first Olympic medal in the men's event.
• The pairs team of Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo won China's first gold medal in figure skating.
• Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir became the first North American couple to win the ice dance title. They were the youngest skaters ever to win the ice dance title. They were also the first former World Junior Champion ice dance couple to win the Olympic gold medal, the first ice dance couple to win gold in an Olympic debut, and the first to win an Olympic gold medal on home ice.
• Mao Asada set a number of triple Axel firsts and records for the ladies' competition:
  • first to land a triple Axel during an Olympic short program;
  • first to perform a triple Axel as part of a jump combination in any Olympic figure skating program;
  • first to land multiple triple Axels during an Olympic competition;
  • first to land multiple triple Axels during a single program in any competition;
  • first to land three triple Axels in any competition;
  • set an Olympic record for one triple Axel for short program;
  • set a world record for two triple Axels for free program;
  • set a world record for three triple Axels in the same competition.

Participating NOCs

Thirty-one nations sent figure skaters to compete in the events at Vancouver.

•  Australia (1)
•  Austria (2)
•  Belgium (2)
•  Canada (12)
•  China (9)
•  Czech Republic (4)
•  Estonia (5)
•  Finland (3)
•  France (8)
•  Georgia (3)
•  Germany (8)
•  Great Britain (7)
•  Hungary (3)
•  Israel (2)
•  Italy (9)
•  Japan (8)
•  Kazakhstan (2)
•  North Korea (1)
•  Poland (4)
•  Romania (1)
•  Russia (16)
•  Slovakia (1)
•  Slovenia (2)
•  South Korea (2)
•  Spain (2)
•  Sweden (1)
•  Switzerland (4)
•  Turkey (1)
•  Ukraine (7)
•  United States (15)
•  Uzbekistan (1)