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I’ve been to Olympic figure skating finals four times- Mens & Womens finals in 1988, Ice Dance and Womens finals in 2002...

I’ve been to a LOT of sporting events (Final 4, Indy 500, Kentucky Derby, 4 different Olympics, lots of college football)...the final group of the 2002 womens finals which took about 25 minutes was the MOST intense sporting event i’ve ever attended...

That said its not “figure skating” anymore- its gymnastics on ice...Isabeau Levito is a great figure skater but since she can’t do 7 triples she doesn’t have a chance...

Ditto Jason Brown- great figure skater but he can’t do a zillion quads so he’s out...

BTW, I was wrong about the Axel, you begin on the left outside edge and start by kicking up with your right leg, and land backward on the right outer edge, checking your rotation with the muscles in you back. What makes the Axel more challenging than other jumps is that since you are starting going forward and landing going backward, there is an extra 1/2 turn to every rotation.

You have to go back at least forty years to see proper emphasis given to footwork as compared to jumps. Still, even today, every trained skater spends countless hours, usually early in the morning when rink-time is available, doing what’s called “patch” practicing their edges by making precise patterns on the ice. Hence the name “Figure Skating”. However, in Spanish-speaking countries, they call it “patinage artistica”.