American Jumping Firsts Under The IJS System

 
Mirai Nagasu. Photo courtesy C. Nabe, shared via Creative Commons license, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

When the IJS System was introduced, it was a 'wiping of the slate' in a way. Never before had jumps been evaluated individually by a technical panel to determine their cleanliness. 

With the 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships taking place this week in San Jose, California, I thought it might be fun to take a little look at some more recent history - the first American singles skaters to land each triple or quadruple jump in senior ISU Championships held under the IJS System. 

Nathan Chen's short program at the 2017 Four Continents Championships

JUMPING FIRSTS UNDER THE IJS SYSTEM

Solo and combination jumps receiving a 0 or positive GOE were considered when compiling this data. In cases where multiple skaters successfully landed the same jump in the same competition, the starting order was used to determine which skater achieved the jump first.

Element	Olympic Games	World Championships	Four Continents Championships
Triple toe-loop (men's)	Johnny Weir (2006, short program)	Johnny Weir (2005, qualifying group)	Matt Savoie (2005, short program)
Triple toe-loop (women's)	Rachael Flatt (2010, short program)	Sasha Cohen (2005, qualifying group)	Amber Corwin (2005, short program)
Triple Salchow (men's)	Matt Savoie (2006, free skate)	Evan Lysacek (2005, qualifying group)	Derrick Delmore (2005, free skate)
Triple Salchow (women's)	Emily Hughes (2006, free skate)	Sasha Cohen (2005, qualifying group)	Amber Corwin (2005, free skate)
Triple loop (men's)	Evan Lysacek (2006, free skate)	Timothy Goebel (2005, qualifying group)	Evan Lysacek (2005, free skate)
Triple loop (women's)	Sasha Cohen (2006, free skate)	Sasha Cohen (2005, free skate)	Jennifer Kirk (2005, free skate)
Triple flip (men's)	Matt Savoie (2006, short program)	Evan Lysacek (2005, qualifying group)	Matt Savoie (2005, short program)
Triple flip (women's)	Kimmie Meissner (2006, short program)	Sasha Cohen (2005, qualifying group)	Jennifer Kirk (2005, short program)
Triple Lutz (men's)	Johnny Weir (2006, short program)	Evan Lysacek (2005, qualifying group)	Matt Savoie (2005, short program)
Triple Lutz (women's)	Emily Hughes (2006, free skate)	Michelle Kwan (2005, qualifying group)	Katy Taylor (2006, free skate)
Triple Axel (men's)	Johnny Weir (2006, short program)	Johnny Weir (2005, qualifying group)	Evan Lysacek (2005, short program)
Triple Axel (women's)	Mirai Nagasu (2018, team event free skate)	none	none
Quadruple toe-loop (men's)	Nathan Chen (2018, free skate)	Jeremy Abbott (2008, short program)	Evan Lysacek (2007, free skate)
Quadruple Salchow (men's)	Nathan Chen (2018, free skate)	Max Aaron (2013, short program)	Max Aaron (2013, short program)
Quadruple flip (men's)	Nathan Chen (2018, free skate)	Nathan Chen (2017, short program)	Nathan Chen (2017, short program)
Quadruple Lutz (men's)	Nathan Chen (2018, free skate)	Nathan Chen (2017, short program)	Nathan Chen (2017, short program)

If you found this information interesting, have I got the book for you! "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" includes a table that is identical to this one, but highlighting international firsts, of which American skaters play an important role. 

You will also find chapters on the waltz jump, toe-loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz, Axel, backflip and pairs throws, side-by-side jumps and twists and plenty of other interesting data and material. The foreword is written by 1962 World Champion Donald Jackson, the first skater to land a triple Lutz jump in competition. You can buy your copy in Kindle E-Book, paperback or hard cover editions on Amazon.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.