Common Figure Skating Jumps Explained
The 2026 Winter Olympics are just around the corner, and, with no disrespect intended to curling and skeleton, figure skating is the perennial marquee event of the Winter Games. That means that many people pay attention to figure skating only once every four years. You can be forgiven for not having Dick Button-like command of the difference between a salchow and a toe loop.
Jumps are broken down into two types: edge jumps and toe jumps. To perform an edge jump a skater uses the edge (either inside or outside) of one skate blade to propel themselves into the air without allowing the other skate to touch the ice. The three edge jumps are the axel, the loop, and the salchow. When executing a toe jump, a skater plants their toe pick (point) into the ice to help launch themselves into the air. The three toe jumps performed in competition are the flip, the lutz, and the toe loop.
Here, in words and images, are breakdowns of the maneuvers you’re likely to be oohing and ahhing over when the competitions begin on February 6, 2026.
The axel is generally considered the most difficult jump in figure skating. The skater begins the jump by skating forward and lifting one knee off the ice while using their opposite foot to vault themselves into the air. In a tight position a skater completes 1.5 spins for a single axel (2.5 for a double, 3.5 for a triple, and 4.5 for a quadruple—we’re talking about you, Ilia Malinin). The skater then lands on the opposite foot, facing in the opposite direction from takeoff.
Fun fact: The axel is named for its inventor, Norwegian skater Axel Paulsen, who first performed the jump in 1882. Paulsen’s skills weren’t limited to figure skating, however. In 1884 he won the world speed skating championship.
The loop jump begins while the skater is moving backward. The skater uses the knee opposite the takeoff foot to help elevate themselves, landing on the same foot as takeoff and moving in the same backward direction. (A loop is different from a toe loop, which is explained below.)
Fun fact: In some parts of the world the loop is known as the Rittenberger, after German skater Werner Rittenberger, who first performed it in 1910. American Dick Button landed the first triple loop at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo.
Named for Sweden’s world-champion skater Ulrich Salchow, who first performed the jump in competition in 1909, the salchow is typically performed when the skater, moving forward, turns to skate backward and immediately takes off from one foot, turns in the air, and lands on the opposite foot.
Fun fact: The first woman to land a quadruple jump in competition was Japan’s Miki Ando, who landed a quadruple salchow in 2002.
A skater enters this jump skating backward on one skate with their knee deeply bent. The skater then plants the pick of their other skate into the ice and launches into a revolution. The jump is landed on the opposite foot from the one used for takeoff.
Fun fact: The flip was originally called the tulip jump because the skater in midair resembles the flower.
Named for its Austrian inventor Alois Lutz, who first performed the jump in 1913, this difficult maneuver is marked by a long backward arcing glide into the jump. The skater plants the toe pick and revolves in the air in the opposite direction of the arc used to begin the jump. The jump is landed on the opposite foot from the one used for takeoff.
Fun fact: When a skater messes up this jump, the mistake is often called a “flutz.”
The toe loop begins with the skater moving backward on a bent leg and then placing the pick of the opposite skate in line behind the lead skate. That assists the lead skate to pole vault the skater into the air. The jump is landed on the same foot used for takeoff.
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Fun fact: The toe loop is generally considered the easiest of the competitive jumps to perform. (Easy for us to say.)