Quad back in vogue in solo
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The difficult, four-revolution quadruple jump is back in vogue, judging from the recently concluded ISU figure skating Grand Prix Final in Beijing.
With the exception of France's Florent Amodio, all competitors in the six-man field attempted the quad jump in the free skating programs at the Capital Gymnasium on Saturday.
Canada's Patrick Chan, who won the men's title, had been skeptical about the necessity of doing the quad jump in competition but he now thinks differently.
"Last season I was pretty adamant - you can still obviously win the Olympics or World without a quad and I still believe that strongly," said Chan, a two-time world championships silver medalist.
"I now have the perception of both sides and now I understand that if you can do the quad, I suggest that you do it and it will work in your favor," he said.
He included the quad in his short program, as did Japan's Nobunari Oda, who finished second behind the 19-year-old Canadian.
Chan became a member of figure skating's "quad squad" when he landed a quadruple toeloop at the Skate Canada competition in October and went on to win the title.
"I just really enjoy doing the quad in the program, it's such an exciting moment when you land it and the buildup to the jump is just so, so nerve-racking.
"The intensity is just really great so when you land it, you feel very, very accomplished."
Oda took the gamble to include a quadruple toeloop in his opening short program for the first time in competition and was duly rewarded when he earned a new season best of 61.64 points.
Oda said the decision was made after last month's Skate America, where he finished second behind his compatriot, world champion Daisuke Takahasi, who had come from behind in the short program to beat him for the title
"After Skate America, I discussed it with (my) coach and I suggested that I really want to include the quad especially going into the second half of the season and the quad was going well at that time," said Oda.
"It's very difficult (the quad) but I feel very good when I land a quad and I also thought I needed to do it this season because I knew that lots of skaters were doing quads," said the 23-year-old Japanese.
Takahashi, who finished fourth in Beijing, did not rule out including the quad in his short program in future competitions.
"I don't know yet but I will try, I will practice," Takahashi said when asked if he planned to incorporate the quad in future short programs.
The four-revolution quadruple jump is figure skating's most difficult but also the most exciting move to watch.
Canadian Kurt Browning was the first man to land a quad of any kind when he landed a four-revolution toe-loop at the 1988 worlds.
On the women's side, Japan's Miki Ando remains the only woman to have landed a quadruple when she attempted a four-revolution Salchow jump in the 2002 junior Grand Prix final.
The International Skating Union (ISU) has lessened the risk for attempting the four-revolution jump, which sparked a bitter debate at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in February.
The base value for the high-scoring "quad" remains higher but the big penalty for failing has been reduced.
Evan Lysacek of the United States won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics without attempting the quad, beating Russia's defending champion Yevgeny Plushenko who opened his free skating with a daring quadruple toeloop-triple toeloop combination.
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