The quad, of course, which requires four revolutions and has nothing to do with the courtyard at your alma mater. Nathan Chen’s mastery of the quad separates him from other male skaters. The Russian teenagers favored to win gold, silver and bronze in the women’s competition — including the favorite, 15-year-old Kamila Valieva — will also rely on quads for their expected dominance.
The most anticipated and difficult jump is the quadruple axel, which is the only one performed while the skater is moving forward. It is difficult because it requires an extra half revolution to land backward. No one has ever cleanly landed a quad axel, though there are rumors that Eddie (the Eagle) Edwards of Britain once completed five full revolutions while falling off a ski jump before the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary.
In December, Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan, the two-time reigning men’s Olympic champion, attempted a quad axel during the Japanese championships. But he did not complete the full four and a half rotations and two-footed the landing. He may need a clean quad axel if he is to defeat Chen and become only the second male skater — and the first in nearly a century — to win three consecutive gold medals.