Women's single skating appeared only in 1906, when the International Skating Union (ISU) began to hold separate competitions for women and men. Already in 1908, women's single skating was included in the program of the Olympic Games.
Maige Sayers won the gold medal at the first Olympic Games of 1908 to include women's ice skating. Back in 1901, this outstanding Englishwoman began to participate in men's competitions, since women's separate competitions were not allowed at that time. In addition, she became world champion for two years in a row, in 1906 and 1907.
After the First World War, Sonia Heni from Norway became the most famous figure skater in the world. She won all the Olympics and world championships in 1927-1936 and was the first woman to master the single axel.
During World War II, European countries stopped training, while the United States and Canada continued to train. As a result, the gold of the 1948 Olympics went to the Canadian Barbara Ann Scott. She also became famous for being the first woman to make a double lutz in 1942.
In 1952, the Englishwoman Genette Alwegg, the winner of the 1951 World Cup, won the Olympic gold medal. Her performances were distinguished by the clarity and perfection of the obligatory figures.
For many years in women's single skating, all the prizes were taken by American women. Tenley Albright (Olympic gold in 1956) and Carol Heiss (gold in 1960, silver in 1954) established a clear uniform style - the main thing in it is flexibility, plasticity, spectacular choreography and very high-quality technical elements. This style was further approved by American women Peggy Fleming (1968 Olympic gold) and Dorothy Hamill (1976 Olympic gold).
The figure skater from Austria, Beatrice Schuba, also left her mark in women's single skating. Due to the execution of the required figures with the highest quality, she received the last mark for figures above 5 points and received the gold of the 1972 Olympics.
In the 1980s, figure skaters from the German Democratic Republic entered the scene, bringing an innovative sporting style to women's single skating, while at the same time revealing their artistic abilities. In 1980, Anette Petsch won Olympic gold, and the next two Olympics, 1984 and 1988, were won by Katharina Witt, with perfect technical elements and harmonious programs.
In 1992, the Olympic gold in women's singles skating returned to the Americans - it was received by Christy Yamaguchi. She became famous for winning first place in the US Championships in both singles and pair skating.
At the 1994 Olympics, the Ukrainian Oksana Baiul distinguished herself, striking everyone with the quality of the elements and the exceptional emotionality of her performance.
The gold of the 1998 and 2002 Olympics returned to the American women. The winners in them were Tara Lipinski (the youngest winner of games in individual disciplines) and Sarah Hughes (she won thanks to a large number of difficult elements - in the free program she performed 7 triple jumps, including 2 cascades 3 + 3).
The 2006 Olympics in Turin pushed the American school to second place (Sasha Cohen - silver). The gold was won by the Japanese woman Shizuka Arakawa, she became the first Japanese figure skater to win the Olympic Games.
At the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, the first place was taken by the representative of South Korea, Kim Yong A. She became the first figure skater to have all the highest titles possible: in her career at all competitions, she always found herself on the podium. Kim Young Ah won the Olympic Games, Four Continents Championship, World Championship, Grand Prix Final.
