Figure skating was first introduced as a part of the Summer Olympics in 1908. After a break, the event was again contested in 1920 after which it was permanently moved to the Winter Games, which started in 1924.
In 1908, four Figure skating medal events were conducted, Men's singles, Men's special figures, Women's singles, and Pair skating. A total of 21 athletes from six nations contested in the event. Sweden dominated the Men's singles event by sweeping the podium. Ulrich Salchow won the gold, Richard Johansson won silver, and Per Thorén took bronze. Skaters from Great Britain had the most success overall with a total haul of six medals, one gold, two silver and three bronze.
For the 1920 games, Men's special figures was removed and only three medal events were contested. A total of 26 skaters from eight countries took part, out of which five made a podium finish. Gillis Grafström and Magda Mauroy-Julin, both from Sweden, won the men's singles and women's singles respectively. Svea Norén, also from Sweden, took the silver medal at the women's singles event to make it a highly successful Swedish campaign. Norway also had a successful outing in their own right winning two silver medals and one bronze medal.
Results List
1908 Men: Ulrich Salchow, Sweden
1908 Women: Florence Syers, Great Britain
1908 Pairs: Annie Kubler/Heinrich Burger, Germany
1920 Men: Gillis Grafstrom, Sweden
1920 Women: Magda Julin, Sweden
1920 Pairs: Ludovika Jakobsson/Walter Jakobsson, Finland
Related Pages
- Figure Skating at the Winter Olympics
- More about the Winter Olympic Games
- See the full list of Discontinued Games Events