Sticking the Landing

By Grace Collins ‘22, February 8, 2022

IC professor conducts gravity-defying figure skating research.

Deborah King has spent decades studying the science of figure skating.

(Photo Submitted)

Nabbing countless headlines, hours of airtime, and even documentary series, figure skating has long been a fan favorite at the Winter Olympics — and for good reason. But while some of us are in awe of the effortlessly executed jumps, twists, and lifts that seem to defy the laws of gravity, scientists like Deborah King see something else: a physics experiment on ice.

With the 2022 Beijing Games in full swing, Deborah King, professor and graduate chair of exercise science and athletic training at Ithaca College, will have her eyes glued to the television on Wednesday, February 9 at 8:30 p.m. That’s when the men’s free skate gold medal event is scheduled to take place. And it’s when Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu is expected to attempt to land the first quadruple axel in Olympic history.

“Skaters jump up, and twist, but if they aren’t completely backwards when they land, the jump gets downgraded,” King said. “And it’s hard to have enough time in the air to rotate all the way around when doing a quad axel. If [Hanyu] lands it, that would be big news, and really cool to see.”

Editor's note: Hanyu attempted to land a quadruple axel in the finals of the men’s free skate competition, but he was unsuccessful.

Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan is hoping to land the first quadruple axel in Olympic history. (Photo by: Leonard Zhukovsky/Shutterstock)

Coming from someone as accomplished as King, that’s high praise. She has dedicated her career to studying the science of figure skating, and her highly regarded work has taken her from the Utah Olympic Park in Salt Lake City to winter sport science conferences in China.

Her primary research surrounds the movement patterns of figure skaters, particularly the force with which they land their jumps. In collaboration with researchers at Brigham Young University, she’s spent the past several years working to develop “smart blades” that can take precise real-time measurements, like the force exerted on the skater the second they return to the ground from a triple axel or a lutz. The end goal is to develop recommendations for skaters to improve their performance and reduce the likelihood of an overuse injury.

“There’s not a lot of research in figure skating specifically about what skills have the highest physical impact, and if there’s any correlation between those skills and injury,” said King. “We want to study that, and then hopefully give some recommendations.”

Deborah King, professor and graduate chair of exercise science and athletic training

“There’s not a lot of research in figure skating specifically about what skills have the highest physical impact, and if there’s any correlation between those skills and injury,” said King. “We want to study that, and then hopefully give some recommendations like ‘You have really high forces, and maybe we can fix that by working on your landing technique or your jumping technique or putting you in a different boot.’”

King has also had multiple opportunities to share her work with large audiences — including that of Queer Eye star Jonathan van Ness, when she appeared on an episode of Van Ness’s “Getting Curious” podcast in January.

Listen and Learn

Professor Deborah King discusses the science of figure skating on “Getting Curious With Jonathan van Ness.”

Van Ness, a figure skating enthusiast, invited King on the podcast to explain the biomechanics involved in the sport and share information about the latest technology.

“[Van Ness] is such a personality, so enthusiastic and such a big figure skating fan,” said King of the appearance. “It was an exciting back-and-forth conversation, and such a joy to do it.”

Despite her impact on the sport, King didn’t always intend to take the figure skating world by storm. She grew up as an athlete and developed a passion for math and science in her collegiate years. She was able to combine the two when she received her master’s degree in biomechanics, and from there she had the opportunity to spend a year in Colorado Springs as a postgrad research associate, working in the Sport Science and Technology Division out of the Olympic Training Center. She continued to work with the Olympics through the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City, where she was able to do live research.

“We were able to go to the figure skating events during the Olympics and set up our cameras right in the stands,” she said. “We actually collected data during the competition, which was a really cool experience.”