Valieva became the first female figure skater to land a quadruple jump
15-year-old Kamila Valieva made history in Beijing as she became the first female figure skater to land a quadruple jump at an Olympic Games on Monday.
The Russian was competing in the team event for the Russian Olympic Committee – who beat the USA and Japan to the gold medal.
Valieva only made her figure skating debut less than six months ago however has broke numerous records and her achievement to successfully land a quadruple jump is a major landmark in the sport.
Quadruple jumps are when a competitor performs four rotations of the body whilst in mid-air and usually a rarity in women’s figure skating, but Valieva has regularly performed the complex move during the season.
The Russian attempted the move twice successfully however did fall when attempting a third quadruple jump, but that didn’t stop her finishing 30 points ahead of closest rival, Kaori Sakamoto.
Valieva’s memorable display followed after the 15-year-old wowed everybody with a phenomenal short program routine where she became only the fourth woman to land a triple axel in Winter Olympics history.
Her performance also saw her score a total of 90.18 – just shy of the current world record, which Valieva set herself at last month’s European Championships, of 90.45.
HISTORY MADE!
15-year-old Kamila Valieva becomes the first woman to land a quadruple jump at an Olympic Games. 🤯#Beijing2022 #figureskating pic.twitter.com/zHxRiETNfi
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) February 7, 2022
During the commentary of her performance, Rob Cousins told the BBC that the way Valieva “performs is so lovely.”
“There is joy in the performance as she’s doing it, it’s the expression, the extension,” he said.
“There is lift into the air into all of her jumps. The body doesn’t waver at all.
“I don’t know how they have this sensibility of performance, besides the technical prowess, at this age that is so honest and believable, it is extraordinary.”
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