Me warming up spins at skating practice. This spin, called a sitspin, is learned in Freestyle 4 level figure skating.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rsuf9IS6aTE&list=UUDBemgOlymka00uKNpa9auQ&index=8&feature=plcp&safe=active

                                              Tara Lipinski at the 1998 Olympic games in Lansing, Michigan

Tara Lipinski becomes the youngest Olympic Figure Skating gold medalist

Febuary 20th, 1998

On February 20, 1998, 15-year-old Tara Lipinski wins the gold medal in women's figure skating at the Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, and becomes the youngest gold medalist in her sport.
Lipinski donned her first pair of skates at age six. In 1994, at age 12, she won a gold medal at the U.S. Olympic Festival, a junior-level competition. In 1997, Lipinski, then 14, took first place at both the national and world figure skating championships, beating out her American rival and perennial fan favorite, Michelle Kwan. Lipinski was the youngest person ever to take home either title. At the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Lipinski and teammate Michelle Kwan were both considered favorites for the gold medal. Earlier that season, the diminutive Lipinski, known for her energetic jumps, had been defeated twice in competition by Kwan, who was considered the more artistic skater of the two. Both Kwan and Lipinski turned in strong performances; however, Lipinski's program was considered more technically difficult and she was awarded the gold medal. Kwan took home the silver medal and China's Chen Lu won the bronze. Lipinski, then 15, was the youngest person in figure skating history to capture Olympic gold. (At the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, 16-year-old Oksana Baiul from Ukraine won the gold in women's figure skating.)
In April 1998, Lipinski announced she was turning professional. She went on to perform in skating shows such as "Stars on Ice" and also pursued an acting career. In 2006, she was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tara-lipinski-becomes-youngest-olympic-figure-skating-gold-medalist

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DojBrSy571Q&safe=active
Sasha Cohen's spiral sequence from the 2006 nationals where she received the gold medal.

Sasha Cohen

 Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a U.S. figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion.

Sasha Cohen performs a split jump, a figure skating element that is learned in the ISI freestyle 6 level and can be added to any program ranging from freestyle to artistic.

Sasha Cohen executes her trademark spiral "arabesque" in the full split position. Cohen is the first skater to have received +3s for spirals in the new judging system for "Grade of Execution".

Michelle Kwan "The most decorated Figure Skater of all time"

Michelle Wingshan Kwan (born July 7, 1980) is an American Figure Skater. She is a two-time (1998 and 2002) Olympic medalist, a five-time (1996, 1998, 2000, 2001 and 2003) World champion (a record bettered only by Sonja Henie among ladies skaters) and a nine-time (1996, 1998–2005) U.S. champion (the all-time record, as tied with Maribel Vinson-Owen).
She competed at a high level for over a decade and is the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history. Known for her consistency and expressive artistry on ice, she is widely considered one of the greatest figure skaters of all time.
For well over a decade, Michelle Kwan maintained her status not only as America's most popular figure skater but as one of America's most popular female athletes, consistently making the top ten on many such polls and lists (often as the only figure skater) even years after she had stopped competing. During the decade of her reign Kwan enjoyed unprecedented popularity and amassed numerous multi-million dollar endorsement deals, starred in multiple TV specials and was the subject of extensive media coverage

Michelle Kwan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hi4ry_5s1AQ&feature=plcp&safe=active
This video shows a range of figure skating jumps from level freestyle 5 to freestyle 7 that I have learned over the past couple of years. An axel is the first non single jump that is learned in figure skating and consists of 1 and a half revolutions in the air. A double salchow, although a true one in a half rotations; is the first double jump learned and is in the freestyle 6 level. The double salchow jump starts from backwards crossovers into a three turn. In the three turn, the skater turns from backwards to forwards, kicks straight through and snaps into the back spin position, turns one and a half rotations and lands in the check position. The double toeloop, the most difficult jump executed in this video, is the second double jump learned in figure skating. This jump, unlike the axel and double salchow is a toe jump instead of an edge jump (meaning all of the power in the jump comes from the toepick). The jump starts from a right outside three turn. After turning from forwards to backwards, the skater lightly taps their toepick into the ice and kicks forward with the opposite foot, bringing in their arms to rotate two revolutions before landing in the check out position. My experience as a Figure Skater has helped me learn how to properly warm up before trying these jumps and to execute them with the correct techniques. In order to achieve these jumps, it's very important for a skater to learn how to properly execute them with the right techniques.