Figure Skating: Team GB will have three representatives at the Beijing Winter Olympics, and look out for Kamila Valieva, who is the women's singles favourite at just 15 years old... everything to know ahead of the competition
- Figure Skating will again be a main attraction at this year's Winter Olympics
- The highly skilled event is utterly ruthless - one mistake and forget gold
- It's the oldest event in the Winter Olympics, first seen in the summer of 1908
- A total of five figure skating events will be held at this year's Games
- Sportsmail tells you everything you need to know about the events
Considered by many as the jewel in the Winter Olympic crown, figure skating is the oldest sport on show at the Beijing Games.
The sport featured in the 1908 Summer Games in London and was present when the Winter Games was first introduced in 1924.
Competitors combine athleticism with grace and beauty as they aim to impress the nine judges who score their efforts based on difficulty and the accuracy at which each move is executed.
Sportsmail takes you through everything you need to know for the competition.
![The sport featured in the 1908 Summer Games and was present in the first Winter Games](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/18/15/53073839-0-image-a-12_1642518022249.jpg)
The sport featured in the 1908 Summer Games and was present in the first Winter Games
Where is the 2022 venue for Figure Skating
The competition will take place at the Capital Indoor Stadium, which is in the Beijing Zone, one of three zones at the Games.
The venue, which will also host the short track skating competitions throughout the fortnight, was also used at the 2008 summer Games, where it held the volleyball tournament.
![The Capital Indoor Stadium will host the Figure Skating competition at the Winter Games](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/18/15/53075711-10414761-image-a-14_1642520731110.jpg)
The Capital Indoor Stadium will host the Figure Skating competition at the Winter Games
With the first locally transmitted Omicron case confirmed in Beijing in recent days, Beijing 2022 organisers have pulled the plug on plans to put tickets on general sale, while foreign-based spectators were already prohibited.
Instead, there will be an 'adapted programme' inviting groups of spectators, though in what number remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, the 18,000-capacity venue will continue to be used for competition, culture and entertainment events following the conclusion of the Games.
Figure Skating disciplines and how it works?
There are five events: men's singles, women's singles, pairs, ice dance and team, all of which are performed to music.
The skaters will receive two sets of scores throughout, being the technical element score (TES), which evaluates the difficulty of the routine, and the program component score (PCS), which is based on presentation. Importantly, the short routine comes first - and only the top scoring athletes advance to the long programme. An overall score is then given.
Single Skating Men's/Women's: Both the men's and women's single events are composed of two different parts: the short programme and the free skate. In each event, the individual will have two minutes and 50 seconds for the short programme. The men will have four minutes 30 seconds for the free skate, while the women will have four minutes.
Pair Skating: Similar to the singles event, this paired event consists of the short programme and free skate. Of course, the difference is that both men and women compete together in pairs. The routines must include jumps, lifts and throws, and are then scored on the same basis as the singles event.
Ice Dance: Again, the ice dance is a paired event with men and women. However, unlike the paired event, ice dance puts more focus in keeping rhythm with the music. The pairs are scored on their ability to keep to the beat where they perform intricate skills. They must stay close to one another and are not allowed to be apart for more than five seconds.
Team Event: This event combines the accumulative scores from all the participants in the previous four events. It was first acknowledged in 2014 where Russia skated out as champions.
![Athletes are scored by nine judges based of the difficulty and accuracy of their moves](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/18/15/53073917-10414761-image-a-13_1642518175390.jpg)
Athletes are scored by nine judges based of the difficulty and accuracy of their moves
Who to watch Winter Olympics 2022?
Team GB will have three representatives competing in the Figure Skating this year, being Natasha McKay, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson, who are all making their Olympic debuts.
All three skaters won titles at the British Figure Skating Championships in December.
Hanyu Yuzuru of Japan is certainly the athlete to beat when it comes to the men's singles, having taken gold in Sochi and PyeongChang in 2014 and 2018 respectively.
Yuzuru, considered one of the best figure skaters of all time, will face fierce competition from Nathan Chen, who has won six US Figure Skating Championships in a row and taken gold in the last three World Figure Skating Championships.
![Kamila Valieva is the favourite to win the women's singles, despite being just 15 years old](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2022/01/18/16/53076327-10414761-image-a-15_1642521652329.jpg)
Kamila Valieva is the favourite to win the women's singles, despite being just 15 years old
As for the women, Kamila Valieva comes in as the favourite after strolling to the European title earlier in January, despite being just 15 years old!
Valieva will bid to become the third consecutive Russian to win the women's Olympic gold in February, aiming to follow in the footsteps of Adelina Sotnikova and Alina Zagitova.
One thing that we do know is that there will be a new champion in the pairs competition, with Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot - who took gold in 2014 - not competing this year.
Team GB squad: Natasha McKay, Lilah Fear, Lewis Gibson
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