Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Every athlete who steps into the Olympic ring has one goal: to take home gold. But there's not always a simple score board or finish line to tell you who wins—especially in figure skating. So, how is such a subjective sport scored?
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Figure skating jumps explained: britannica.com/sports/Common-Figure-Skating-Jumps-Explained
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: britannica.com/event/Milano-Cortina-2026-Olympic-Winter-Games
Figure skating: britannica.com/sports/figure-skating
2026 Olympic Athletes to Watch britannica.com/sports/2026-Milano-Cortina-Olympics-Athletes-to-Watch
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Transcript:
Every athlete who steps into the Olympic ring has one goal: to take home gold. But there's not always a simple score board or finish line to tell you who wins. So, how are sports judged in the Olympics?
Actually, it depends on whether the sport in question is judged using objective or subjective criteria. Sports that use objective metrics—like swimming, track, or hockey—come down to the fastest time, farthest jump, or highest score. (You probably get this part.)
Sports with subjective criteria—like gymnastics or figure skating—take a certain…je ne sais quoi. Take figure skating, for example, which is scored by a panel of up to nine judges.
During the routine, two technical specialists and a technical controller assign a base value to each element based on difficulty. So, for example, an upright spin can earn up to 2.4 points, whereas a triple axel earns 8 points.
Then a panel of judges determines their technical element score by assigning a “grade of execution” for each element, which adds or subtracts up to five points from a move’s base value reflecting how well they executed the element.
To reduce bias, the highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the remaining are averaged for each element. The sum of all of the element scores becomes the technical element score.
Skaters are also evaluated on their general skating abilities, presentation, and musicality through the program component score. Judges give a score for each component in increments of 0.25, up to a perfect score of 10. Each component is then multiplied by a fixed factor depending on the program.
After any deductions for errors, such as falls or time violations, skaters receive a combined total segment score. Since there is no “perfect” score, skaters are continually raising the blade on the ice.
Now that you know how Olympic judging actually works, you can watch every twist like a true insider—and maybe even predict who’s taking home the gold.
Or…maybe some things are better left to the professionals.
Every athlete who steps into the Olympic ring has one goal: to take home gold. But there's not always a simple score board or finish line to tell you who wins—especially in figure skating. So, how is such a subjective sport scored?
More from Britannica:
Figure skating jumps explained: britannica.com/sports/Common-Figure-Skating-Jumps-Explained
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Games: britannica.com/event/Milano-Cortina-2026-Olympic-Winter-Games
Figure skating: britannica.com/sports/figure-skating
2026 Olympic Athletes to Watch britannica.com/sports/2026-Milano-Cortina-Olympics-Athletes-to-Watch
QuadG0d Ilia Malinin: britannica.com/biography/Ilia-Malinin
~~~
#EncyclopaediaBritannica
Inspiring curiosity and the joy of learning since 1768.
Web: britannica.com
Facebook: facebook.com/Britannica
Twitter: twitter.com/Britannica
Instagram: instagram.com/Britannica
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/britannica.com
~~~
Transcript:
Every athlete who steps into the Olympic ring has one goal: to take home gold. But there's not always a simple score board or finish line to tell you who wins. So, how are sports judged in the Olympics?
Actually, it depends on whether the sport in question is judged using objective or subjective criteria. Sports that use objective metrics—like swimming, track, or hockey—come down to the fastest time, farthest jump, or highest score. (You probably get this part.)
Sports with subjective criteria—like gymnastics or figure skating—take a certain…je ne sais quoi. Take figure skating, for example, which is scored by a panel of up to nine judges.
During the routine, two technical specialists and a technical controller assign a base value to each element based on difficulty. So, for example, an upright spin can earn up to 2.4 points, whereas a triple axel earns 8 points.
Then a panel of judges determines their technical element score by assigning a “grade of execution” for each element, which adds or subtracts up to five points from a move’s base value reflecting how well they executed the element.
To reduce bias, the highest and lowest scores are dropped, and the remaining are averaged for each element. The sum of all of the element scores becomes the technical element score.
Skaters are also evaluated on their general skating abilities, presentation, and musicality through the program component score. Judges give a score for each component in increments of 0.25, up to a perfect score of 10. Each component is then multiplied by a fixed factor depending on the program.
After any deductions for errors, such as falls or time violations, skaters receive a combined total segment score. Since there is no “perfect” score, skaters are continually raising the blade on the ice.
Now that you know how Olympic judging actually works, you can watch every twist like a true insider—and maybe even predict who’s taking home the gold.
Or…maybe some things are better left to the professionals.
