So much figure skating history has been made in 2023. This month at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Beijing, Ilia Malinin made history twice - becoming the first skater to land a quad Axel jump in the short program in a major international competition and the first skater to land every single type of quad jump in competition. In the spring at the World Championships in Saitama, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara made history as the first pair from Japan to win a gold medal at the World Championships. Another outstanding duo, Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, also made history this year as the very first Italian pair to win a gold medal at the European Championships and a medal at the World Championships.
It has been a year full of amazing moments in figure skating, but sad ones as well. As we look back on the year, we all will take a moment to honour the memories of many members of the skating community we lost this year, including Oleg Protopopov, Jutta Müller, Alexandra Paul, Doug Mattis, György Czakó, Michael Botticelli, Marilyn Ruth Take Wittstock, Jane Garden and Todd Reynolds.
Despite the very much ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, figure skating has continued to thrive as a world-class sport and 2024 promises to be even more exciting, if the skating we have seen so far this season is any indication.
What a fun year it has been from a content creator perspective too! I was delighted to have contributed some interesting articles for "Skating" magazine and to have published three new books this year: "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps", "A Bibliography of Figure Skating" and "Jackson Haines: The Skating King". I also started a newsletter, which has been a lot of fun as well.
As is the case every year here on Skate Guard, I like to close out the year by doing a little countdown of 10.0 of the most compelling stories that you may have missed over the course of the past year. A Happy New Year to you and here's to more fascinating figure skating history in 2024!
10. CAMEL SPINS IN CAIRO: A LOOK AT EGYPT'S UNIQUE SKATING HISTORY
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I never cease to be amazed at how parts of the world we don't traditionally think of as skating hotbeds actually have incredibly interesting skating histories. Back in March, we explored the very unique history of skating in Egypt.
9. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CANADIAN SKATER
Who doesn't know and love "Skating" magazine? It's the oldest continously published figure skating periodical in the world and it's pretty fabulous. Did you know Canada had a lovely glossy figure skating magazine of its own once upon a time? In February, we looked at the story of the short-lived but much-loved periodical "Canadian Skater".
8. BEYOND ONE JUMP: THE NATE WALLEY STORY
You've heard of the Walley jump. Do you know the story of the skater behind it? In February, we looked back on the incredible story of Nate Walley, a Minnesota born skater who made an impact as a figure skating coach in England, Australia, Canada and the United States.
7. SONJA AND THE EXTORTIONIST
Did you know that three-time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie was the target of criminals more than once? In July, we remembered an exortion attempt on the Norwegian skating great that made it all the way to the case files of the FBI.
6. A BRITISH AMERICAN CHAMPION: THE ROSEMARY BERESFORD STORY
Back in April, we explored the fascinating life story of Rosemary Beresford, the only non-North American woman to claim the U.S. women's title.
5. ZERR WOMAN: THE HELENE ENGELMANN STORY
Austria's Helene Engelmann came from an incredibly talented Viennese skating family and soared to victory with her partner Alfred Berger at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix. An uncovered interview brought her story to life on Skate Guard in August.
4. NINETIES NOSTALGIA: FIGURE SKATING TOURS IN THE 90'S
In decade of Milli Vanilli and Murphy Brown, who didn't love going out and watching a fabulous figure skating tour in action? In November, we took a fond look back at the history of figure skating tours in the 1990's.
3. IT HAPPENED IN SUN VALLEY: A HISTORY OF FIGURE SKATING IN SUN VALLEY
The outdoor ice rink at the resort in Sun Valley, Idaho has played host to a who's who of figure skating over the years. This month, we took a look at the history of figure skating in Sun Valley and the casts of the resort's iconic summer ice shows.
2. TIME TO TALK TYKE: THE T.D. RICHARDSON STORY
A larger than life figure in the sport, Captain T.D. Richardson was an Olympic figure skater, judge, author, historian and so much more. We explored his immensely interesting story on the blog back in September.
1. CONTRAPTIONS AND CONTRIVANCES: FIGURE SKATING'S ODDEST INVENTIONS
Figure skating history is peppered with bizarre tales of inventions gone wrong. In May, we looked back at the weirdest and wackiest of them all.
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.