A KINEMATIC COMPARISON OF SINGLE, DOUBLE AND TRIPLE AXELS

To be competitive internationally, figure skaters today must perform c omplex athletic skills such as triple axels. However, few skaters are executing such jumps consistently. In this study, a 3D kinematic analy sis of five elite male skaters was undertaken to compare characteristi cs of single, double, and triple axels and to determine which paramete rs are most critical to completion of the triple axel. Results indicat e that skaters increase their number of revolutions by increasing thei r rotational velocity, not by increasing their time in the air. The st udy also shows that skaters' triple axels travel horizontally only 70% as far as their single axels, an observation attributable to skaters' greater skid distances, greater takeoff angles, and consequently lowe r horizontal velocities in their triple axels. It appears that achievi ng a high rotational velocity by generating angular momentum at takeof f and by minimizing moment of inertia about the spin axis is a key to completing the triple axel.