Short answers, pulled from the story.
Figure skating made its Olympic debut at the 1908 Summer Olympics in London, making it the first winter sport ever contested at the Olympics. The team event, which combines the four individual disciplines, was first included in the Winter Olympics in 2014.
The six jumps that count as jump elements are the toe loop, flip, Lutz, Salchow, loop, and Axel. They split into toe jumps, launched with the toe pick, and edge jumps, which use no toe assist. The Axel is the only one that takes off from a forward edge, adding an extra half rotation.
American skater Ilia Malinin landed the first clean, fully rotated quadruple Axel at the 2022 CS U.S. Classic. It came 34 years after Kurt Browning of Canada landed the first ratified quadruple jump, a quad toe loop, at the World Figure Skating Championships in 1988.
In figure skating, professional refers to competitive status rather than skill level. Skaters at the highest levels of international competition are not professionals; they are sometimes called amateurs even though some earn money. Professional skaters are those who have lost their ISU eligibility or who perform only in shows.
Under the International Judging System adopted in 2004, each element earns a base value plus a grade of execution from a panel of nine judges, ranging from minus 5 to plus 5. A separate program components score rewards composition, presentation, and skating skills. A skater's final placement is the total of their scores across all segments.
Compulsory figures, the circles that gave the sport its name, once made up 60 percent of the score but could not be shown on television, while free skating could. After audiences complained about results like Janet Lynn missing the podium in 1971, the ISU progressively reduced their weight and eliminated them from international competition in 1990.
Figure skating is an expensive sport because of ice time and coaching costs. World champion Patrick Chan's expenses reached 150,000 Canadian dollars, and Swiss skater Stephane Lambiel said his ran around 100,000 Swiss francs per season. Prize money is comparatively low, with a 2011 World Championship singles winner earning 45,000 US dollars.