You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Turbo Axel, Double Lutz, Tolloup, South Cow, it is time my friends to fall in love again

with the sport of figure skating.

The 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing is underway.

The event is a tradition dating back to the great Olympic Games of Ancient Greece.

Every four years, athletes from around the globe come together to compete on the world

stage.

Growing up in the 90s, I was obsessed with Olympic figure skating, just mesmerized by

the grace, the outfits, the beautiful spins and jumps of the figure skaters, and when

Michelle Kwan entered the scene, she was everything to me.

Her skating would make me cry, and I can't speak for all Asian American girls, but

watching Michelle Kwan's skate felt like a personal victory.

She just had that big sister energy, and I was so proud of her.

But as graceful as her spins are, as smooth as her famous change of edge spiral is.

This level of figure skating starts with a strong foundation.

So today on the show, we travel to an ice cream.

But you're all doing shriples one day, right?

To better understand the physics that drives figure skating.

The forces behind those spins and jumps, and we ask, an exercise scientist, are we at

the limits of what's physically possible for the sport?

We're listening to shortwave, the Daily Science podcast from NPR.

Alright so before the winter Olympics, producer Thomas Lu and I went on a shortwave field

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