Pyeongchang 2018 - the stories to watch.
Figure skating.
Figure skating is the most graceful sport
at the Winter Olympics,
matching elegance with intense concentration,
pinpoint precision with spins, throws and jumps,
all on blades barely wider than a fingernail.
There are five disciplines in figure skating.
The men's and ladies singles events consist of both
a two minute 50 seconds short programme
and a free skate that lasts up to four minutes and ten seconds
for women and dancers,
and 4.5 minutes for men in pairs, with scores that
reward technical elements and artistry.
Unlike the pairs,
the dance event features three programmes.
Throws are forbidden and distance between skaters
kept to a minimum.
The team event combines scores from one programme
in each of the four events.
In Pyeongchang events will take place in the area's
Coastal Cluster, in the Gangneung Ice Arena,
which will also host short track speed skating.
The venue is very close to the sea,
giving spectacular aerial shots.
One of the showpiece venues,
the Ice Arena can host 12,000 spectators.
There is also a second rink on site.
It sits in a very popular area of Pyeongchang 2018.
Which Olympic gold medallist in figure skating has her star
on Hollywood Boulevard?
(FIND OUT AT THE END)
(YUZURU HANYU, JAPAN)
The reigning world and Olympic champion, Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu,
will be favourite to win gold again in Pyeongchang.
His father named him Yuzuru to indicate a tight bowstring
that symbolises strength,
though he has also acquired a sense of style and grace.
In 2016 he played a samurai lord in the movie
Magnificent Nine, but he also has a fondness for
the cuddly character Winnie the Pooh,
and often receives stuffed Pooh Bears at competitions.
Yuzuru's home rink in his native city of Sendai
was badly damaged by the tsunami in 2011,
and he has raised more than ten million yen to help rebuild it.
(JAVIER FERNANDEZ, SPAIN)
Spain's Javier Fernandez is a two-time world champion
and five-time European champion
looking for his first Olympic medal at age 26.
He is Spain's only male single skating Olympian since 1956.
Javier is a fan of the Real Madrid football club,
and of his countryman tennis star Rafael Nadal.
His parents are a mail carrier and an army mechanic.
At one time or another he has trained full-time in Canada,
the US, Russia and Latvia, and admits to frequent bouts
of homesickness, especially for his mother's cooking.
His Canadian coach Brian Orser
is a two-time Olympic silver medallist.
In the all-time Olympic medal count for figure skating,
in fifth place is Great Britain with five gold medals.
Austria seven gold medals.
The Soviet Union next with ten gold medals.
Russia in second place with a total of 27.
On top of the table sits the United States
with 49 total medals, including 15 golds.
(NATHAN CHEN, USA)
Nathan Chen became the first skater in history to land
five quadruple jumps in one programme
when he won the US Championships in 2017.
Every single one of the top six, top ten even,
men are really pushing the limits.
Technically, in terms of their jumps, we're all throwing four,
five quads out on a long programme,
which three years ago was completely unheard-of, so the
men's in general have taken huge bounds technically,
and that's kind of the direction
that we're going right now.
The youngest of five children,
Nathan also trained in ballet and gymnastics.
He began skating at three
after watching his brothers play ice hockey.
He tried his hand at guitar, piano and violin,
and plans to enter medical school
after his skating career.
(EVGENIA MEDVEDEVA, RUSSIA)
Evgenia is unbeaten in ladies competition since November 2015
when she finished second at the Rostelecom Cup in Germany.
Since then the Russian has won two world titles
and broken 11 world scoring records for performances
that match skill and style.
She often performed jumps with one hand over her head,
a technique pioneered by Olympic champion Brian Boitano.
Evgenia's mother was also a figure skater,
though she took the surname of her maternal grandmother.
Evgenia is a fan of anime and a student of languages.
(DID YOU KNOW?)
When was the first figure skating event
held at the Olympics?
Well, that was in London 1908 at the Summer Olympics.
Ulrich Salchow won the gold medal.
These days his name is famous
due to the jump named after him.
(ALIONA SAVCHENKO AND BRUNO MASSOT, GERMANY)
Medal contenders Germany's Aliona Savchenko
and Bruno Massot are quite the international pair.
The 33-year-old Savchenko formally represented her
native Ukraine, and Massot represented his native France.
They are both coached by the great British ice dancer
Christopher Dean.
Aliona's father was a competitive weightlifter.
She won five World Championships with her previous
partner Robin Szolkowy, whose father was from Tanzania.
Last year she married Briton Liam Cross.
Bruno's previous partner, Daria Popova,
was originally from Russia.
(TESSA VIRTUE AND SCOTT MOIR, CANADA)
Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir
are back as favourites in ice dancing after
winning gold and silver medals at the last two Olympics.
Tessa is a psychology major at the University
of Western Ontario.
Scott comes from a skating family.
His aunt paired him with Tessa when he was ten
and she was eight.
And both have been partners ever since.
Tessa and Scott filmed their own TV show together
while training for the Sochi Olympics.
(GABRIELLA PAPADAKIS AND GUILLAUME CIZERON, FRANCE)
Gabriela and Guillaume could be the most formidable
challengers to the Canadians, having won world titles in 2015
and 2016 when Virtue and Moir were not competing.
In November they became the first dance team to
amass 200 points, at the Cup of China competition in Beijing.
They have skated together for 13 years, first teaming up
when Guillaume was ten and Gabriela was nine.
Which Olympic gold medallist in figure skating
has her star on Hollywood Boulevard?
Sonia Henie, Norway.
The 1928, 1932 and 1936 ladies singles Olympic champion.
(FIGURE SKATING)
The glamour event of the Games begins on opening ceremony day.
12 days will have figure skating competitions.
Day eight will decide the men's singles competition.
On day 14 the winner of the ladies singles will be decided,
which always brings huge interest.
On the final day of competition is the gala exhibition.
The figure skating at the Games is always memorable
and Pyeongchang 2018 will be no different.
The Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang set to begin
February 9.
Fill your knowledge tank
by watching other episodes on Olympic Channel.
(ROAD TO PYEONGCHANG, 2018)