What's the difference between ice skating jumps? Here's what you need to know for the Olympics
The jumps are household names, at least in figure skating households: salchow, axel, lutz, loop, flip and toe loop.
In order of difficulty, from the easiest to the hardest, they are: toe loop, salchow, loop, flip, lutz, axel. Three of those are jumps in which the skater’s toe pick initiates the lift off the ice: toe loop, flip and lutz. The other three are known as “edge” jumps, in which the skater lifts off the ice on the edge of their skate blade: salchow, loop and axel.
These can be done as single-revolution jumps, doubles, triples or quads. On all of the jumps but one, the skater takes off while skating backward. On the axel, the skater takes off moving forward.
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Let’s look at the lutz vs. the salchow. The lutz is a toe-pick assisted jump with an entrance from a back outside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot. The lutz sometimes comes at the end of a relatively long glide, especially in women’s skating.
The salchow is an edge jump, accomplished with a takeoff from the back inside edge and landing on the back outside edge of the opposite foot.
Edge jumps like the salchow require having a feel for the ice with the pressure of the blade to spring up. Toe jumps like the lutz are explosive, in which the timing is critical because both feet work in concert to propel the skater.
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Most skaters have jumps they like to do more than others. Skaters who favor toe jumps tend to like to “muscle” their jumps into the air, while those who are better edge jumpers tend to have more of a feel for the blade pressure and the exact spot to press off the ice.
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Figure skating jumps explained: What to know for 2022 Winter Olympics
