[[Figure skating]] was first contested as an [[Olympic sport]] at the [[London 1908|1908 Summer Olympics]], in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) approved its inclusion in the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]] program.<ref name="ioc 1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/disciplines_uk.asp?DiscCode=FS|title=Figure Skating|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]]|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> It was featured a second time at the [[Antwerp 1920|Antwerp Games]],<ref name="ioc 2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/history_uk.asp?DiscCode=FS&sportCode=SK|title=Figure Skating: History|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=International Olympic Committee|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the [[Winter Olympic Games]], first held in [[Chamonix 1924|1924]] in [[Chamonix]], France.<ref name="ioc 1" /><br />In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's [[special figures]], and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by [[Russia|Russian]] [[Nikolai Panin]], who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.<ref name="panin">{{Cite journal|last=Windhausen|first=John D.|year=1976|title=Russia's First Olympic Victor|journal=Journal of Sport History|publisher=North American Society for Sport History|location=United States of America|volume=3|issue=1|pages=35–44|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1976/JSH0301/jsh0301d.pdf|accessdate=July 15, 2009|format=PDF}}</ref> He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program. Once a [[demonstration sport|demonstration event]] at [[Grenoble 1968]], [[ice dancing]] has been an official medal-awarding Olympic figure skating event since it was introduced in 1976.<ref name="ioc 2" />
[[Figure skating]] was first contested as an [[Olympic sport]] at the [[London 1908|1908 Summer Olympics]], in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the [[International Olympic Committee]] (IOC) approved its inclusion in the [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]] program.<ref name="ioc 1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/disciplines_uk.asp?DiscCode=FS|title=Figure Skating|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]]|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> It was featured a second time at the [[Antwerp 1920|Antwerp Games]],<ref name="ioc 2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/sports/programme/history_uk.asp?DiscCode=FS&sportCode=SK|title=Figure Skating: History|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=International Olympic Committee|accessdate=July 14, 2009}}</ref> after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the [[Winter Olympic Games]], first held in [[Chamonix 1924|1924]] in [[Chamonix]], France.<ref name="ioc 1" /><br />In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's [[special figures]], and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by [[Russia|Russian]] [[Nikolai Panin]], who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.<ref name="panin">{{Cite journal|last=Windhausen|first=John D.|year=1976|title=Russia's First Olympic Victor|journal=Journal of Sport History|publisher=North American Society for Sport History|location=United States of America|volume=3|issue=1|pages=35–44|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/JSH/JSH1976/JSH0301/jsh0301d.pdf|accessdate=July 15, 2009|format=PDF}}</ref> He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program. Once a [[demonstration sport|demonstration event]] at [[Grenoble 1968]], [[ice dancing]] has been an official medal-awarding Olympic figure skating event since it was introduced in 1976.<ref name="ioc 2" />
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[[Sweden|Swedish]] figure skater [[Gillis Grafström]]—who competed in four consecutive Olympics, from the 1920 Summer Games to the [[Lake Placid 1932|1932 Winter Games]]—is the overall medal leader in the sport, having collected four medals.<ref name="gillis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.asp?PAR_I_ID=71728|title=Gillis Grafström|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]]|accessdate=July 12, 2009}}</ref> He is the only man to have won three consecutive singles gold medals, and one of five sportspeople to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.<ref name="records">{{Cite web|url=http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1136.pdf|title=Factsheet: Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games|date=February 2009|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=International Olympic Committee|accessdate=July 15, 2009|format=PDF}}</ref> Grafström followed the footsteps of countryman [[Ulrich Salchow]], the first Olympic champion and creator of the [[Salchow jump|jump bearing his name]], who later became president of the [[International Skating Union]] (ISU).<ref>{{Cite journal|date=May 1984|title=Skating and Olympism|journal=Olympic Review|publisher=International Olympic Committee|location=Lausanne|issue=199|pages=353|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1984/ore199/ORE199z.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=July 23, 2009}}</ref> Eleven figure skaters have won three medals: [[Sonja Henie]] ([[Norway]]) and [[Irina Rodnina]] ([[Soviet Union]]), winners of three consecutive titles in the ladies' singles (1928–1936) and pairs (1972–1980) events, respectively; [[Pierre Brunet]] and wife [[Andrée Brunet]] ([[France at the Olympics|France]]), 1928–1932 pairs champions; [[Shen Xue]] and [[Zhao Hongbo]] ([[China]]), the 2010 pairs gold medalists; ice dancers [[Marina Klimova]] and [[Sergei Ponomarenko]] (Soviet Union and [[Unified Team at the Olympics|Unified Team]]); [[Artur Dmitriev]] (Unified Team and [[Russia at the Olympics|Russia]]); [[Evgeni Plushenko]] (Russia) and [[Beatrix Loughran]] ([[United States at the Olympics|United States]]), medalist in both singles and pairs.<ref name="medal leader" />
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[[Sweden|Swedish]] figure skater [[Gillis Grafström]]—who competed in four consecutive Olympics, from the 1920 Summer Games to the [[Lake Placid 1932|1932 Winter Games]]—is the overall medal leader in the sport, having collected four medals.<ref name="gillis">{{Cite web|url=http://www.olympic.org/uk/athletes/profiles/bio_uk.asp?PAR_I_ID=71728|title=Gillis Grafström|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=[[International Olympic Committee]]|accessdate=July 12, 2009}}</ref> He is the only man to have won three consecutive singles gold medals, and one of five sportspeople to win medals at both the Summer and Winter Olympics.<ref name="records">{{Cite web|url=http://multimedia.olympic.org/pdf/en_report_1136.pdf|title=Factsheet: Records and medals at the Olympic Winter Games|date=February 2009|work=Official website of the Olympic Movement|publisher=International Olympic Committee|accessdate=July 15, 2009|format=PDF}}</ref> Grafström followed the footsteps of countryman [[Ulrich Salchow]], the first Olympic champion and creator of the [[Salchow jump|jump bearing his name]], who later became president of the [[International Skating Union]] (ISU).<ref>{{Cite journal|date=May 1984|title=Skating and Olympism|journal=Olympic Review|publisher=International Olympic Committee|location=Lausanne|issue=199|pages=353|url=http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1984/ore199/ORE199z.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=July 23, 2009}}</ref> Eleven figure skaters have won three medals: [[Sonja Henie]] ([[Norway]]) and [[Irina Rodnina]] ([[Soviet Union]]), winners of three consecutive titles in the ladies' singles (1928–1936) and pairs (1972–1980) events, respectively; [[Pierre Brunet]] and wife [[Andrée Brunet]] ([[France]]), 1928–1932 pairs champions; [[Shen Xue]] and [[Zhao Hongbo]] ([[China]]), the 2010 pairs gold medalists; ice dancers [[Marina Klimova]] and [[Sergei Ponomarenko]] (Soviet Union and [[Unified Team]]); [[Artur Dmitriev]] (Unified Team and [[Russia]]); [[Evgeni Plushenko]] (Russia) and [[Beatrix Loughran]] ([[United States]]), medalist in both singles and pairs.<ref name="medal leader" />
Besides Grafström and Henie, only [[Karl Schäfer]] ([[Austria]]), [[Dick Button]] (United States), and [[Katarina Witt]] ([[East Germany]]) successfully defended their singles titles. Rodnina's two-time partner [[Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev|Alexander Zaitsev]], [[Ludmila Belousova]] and [[Oleg Protopopov]] (Soviet Union), in the pairs, and [[Oksana Grishuk]] and [[Evgeny Platov]] (Russia), in ice dance, also retained their gold medals. [[Ekaterina Gordeeva]] and [[Sergei Grinkov]] are also two-time Olympic champions: they won the pairs competition in [[Calgary 1988|1988]] for the Soviet Union, and repeated the victory at the [[Lillehammer 1994|Lillehammer Games]] representing Russia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/05/16/cnn25.tan.gordeeva/index.html|title=Then & Now: Ekaterina Gordeeva |date=June 22, 2005|work=CNN.com|publisher=CNN|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref>
Besides Grafström and Henie, only [[Karl Schäfer]] ([[Austria]]), [[Dick Button]] (United States), and [[Katarina Witt]] ([[East Germany]]) successfully defended their singles titles. Rodnina's two-time partner [[Alexander Gennadiyevich Zaitsev|Alexander Zaitsev]], [[Ludmila Belousova]] and [[Oleg Protopopov]] (Soviet Union), in the pairs, and [[Oksana Grishuk]] and [[Evgeny Platov]] (Russia), in ice dance, also retained their gold medals. [[Ekaterina Gordeeva]] and [[Sergei Grinkov]] are also two-time Olympic champions: they won the pairs competition in [[Calgary 1988|1988]] for the Soviet Union, and repeated the victory at the [[Lillehammer 1994|Lillehammer Games]] representing Russia.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/05/16/cnn25.tan.gordeeva/index.html|title=Then & Now: Ekaterina Gordeeva |date=June 22, 2005|work=CNN.com|publisher=CNN|accessdate=August 6, 2009}}</ref>
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As of the [[2010 Winter Olympics]], the United States leads the medal count with a total of 46 medals: 14 gold, 16 silver, and 16 bronze. [[Canada at the Olympics|Canada]] and [[Russia at the Olympics|Russia]] are tied with 22 medals — although Russia has won more gold medals (12 versus 4) — while [[Austria at the Olympics|Austria]] is the third [[National Olympic Committee]] (NOC) country with the most medals, at 20. On two occasions, one country accomplished a medal sweep: Sweden in the 1908 men's singles, and the United States in the 1956 men's singles. From 1964 to 2006, Russian figure skaters—representing the Soviet Union, the [[Unified Team at the Olympics|Unified Team]], or Russia—have always won a gold medal in the pairs event, in what is the longest series of victories for one country in one event.<ref name="records" /> A total of 240 medals (81 gold, 79 silver, and 80 bronze) have been won by <!-- 64 men + 62 women --> figure skaters representing 25 NOC countries.<br />__NOTOC__<br />{| class="toc"<br />!colspan="2"| Table of contents<br />|-<br />|'''Men'''<br />|[[#Singles|Singles]]<br />|-<br />|'''Ladies'''<br />|[[#LSingles|Singles]]<br />|-<br />|'''Mixed'''<br />|[[#Pairs|Pairs]] • [[#Ice dancing|Ice dancing]]<br />|-<br />|'''Discontinued'''<br />|[[#Special figures|Special figures]] (men)<br />|-<br />| colspan="2" align="center"|<br />'''[[#Statistics|Statistics]]''' <br />'''[[#See also|See also]]''' <br />'''[[#References|References]]'''<br />|}
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As of the [[Vancouver 2010|2010 Winter Olympics]], the United States leads the medal count with a total of 46 medals: 14 gold, 16 silver, and 16 bronze. [[Canada]] and [[Russia]] are tied with 22 medals — although Russia has won more gold medals (12 versus 4) — while [[Austria]] is the third [[National Olympic Committee]] (NOC) country with the most medals, at 20. On two occasions, one country accomplished a medal sweep: Sweden in the 1908 men's singles, and the United States in the 1956 men's singles. From 1964 to 2006, Russian figure skaters—representing the Soviet Union, the [[Unified Team]], or Russia—have always won a gold medal in the pairs event, in what is the longest series of victories for one country in one event.<ref name="records" /> A total of 240 medals (81 gold, 79 silver, and 80 bronze) have been won by <!-- 64 men + 62 women --> figure skaters representing 25 NOC countries.<br />__NOTOC__<br />{| class="toc"<br />!colspan="2"| Table of contents<br />|-<br />|'''Men'''<br />|[[#Singles|Singles]]<br />|-<br />|'''Ladies'''<br />|[[#LSingles|Singles]]<br />|-<br />|'''Mixed'''<br />|[[#Pairs|Pairs]] • [[#Ice dancing|Ice dancing]]<br />|-<br />|'''Discontinued'''<br />|[[#Special figures|Special figures]] (men)<br />|-<br />| colspan="2" align="center"|<br />'''[[#Statistics|Statistics]]''' <br />'''[[#See also|See also]]''' <br />'''[[#References|References]]'''<br />|}
Figure skating was first contested as an Olympic sport at the 1908 Summer Olympics, in London, United Kingdom. As this traditional winter sport could be conducted indoors, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved its inclusion in the Summer Olympics program.[1] It was featured a second time at the Antwerp Games,[2] after which it was permanently transferred to the program of the Winter Olympic Games, first held in 1924 in Chamonix, France.[1] In London, figure skating was presented in four events: men's singles, women's singles, men's special figures, and mixed pairs. The special figures contest was won by RussianNikolai Panin, who gave his country its first ever Olympic gold medal.[3] He remains the event's sole winner, as it was subsequently dropped from the program. Once a demonstration event at Grenoble 1968, ice dancing has been an official medal-awarding Olympic figure skating event since it was introduced in 1976.[2]
As of the 2010 Winter Olympics, the United States leads the medal count with a total of 46 medals: 14 gold, 16 silver, and 16 bronze. Canada and Russia are tied with 22 medals — although Russia has won more gold medals (12 versus 4) — while Austria is the third National Olympic Committee (NOC) country with the most medals, at 20. On two occasions, one country accomplished a medal sweep: Sweden in the 1908 men's singles, and the United States in the 1956 men's singles. From 1964 to 2006, Russian figure skaters—representing the Soviet Union, the Unified Team, or Russia—have always won a gold medal in the pairs event, in what is the longest series of victories for one country in one event.[5] A total of 240 medals (81 gold, 79 silver, and 80 bronze) have been won by figure skaters representing 25 NOC countries.
Template:Note label Grafström's first gold medal was in the figure skating tournament held during the 1920 Summer Olympics. The remaining medals were won at the 1924–1932 Winter Games.
Template:Note label No silver medal was awarded in the 2002 Olympic figure skating pairs event, as the Canadians Salé and Pelletier were also given a gold medal, in the aftermath of a judging scandal.[9]
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