the.com/axel
A figure skating jump so proud it's the only one that starts facing forward.
means A figure-skating jump taking off from a forward outside edge, landing backward on the opposite foot, with at least one and a half rotations in the air.
from Named after Axel Paulsen, a Norwegian speed and figure skater who first performed the jump in 1882. Unlike most skating terms borrowed from French, this one is simply a man's name, frozen into the sport forever — a rare case of eponymous fame earned on a single blade's edge.
- origin
- named after Axel Paulsen, Norwegian skater, 1882
- rotation quirk
- extra half turn hidden in every count
- double meaning
- also just a car's pivoting axle, less glamorous
- difficulty
- quad axel still eludes most elite men