Some of the famous Olympic Skaters and Types Of Skates

The invention of ice skatingwas really helpful for the Finnish populations as it allowed them to save their energy during harsh weather conditions while hunting in the Finnish Lakeland. The earliest known skatesdate back to 200 A.D. and were made up of metal blades and were found in Scandinavia. The skate was fitted with a thin strip of copper folded and was attached to the underside of a leather shoe.

Some of the famous Ice skaters of all time are-

• Katarina Witt- She is a retired German figure skater who won two Olympic gold medals for East Germany at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. Being a four time World Champion and two times World Silver medallist, Katarina is one of the famous skaters of all time.
• TanithBelbin-  Born in Kingston, this Canadian-American Ice Dancer competed for the United States since the time of her inception with Benjamin Agosto in 1998. Along with Benjamin, Tanith won the 2006 Olympic Silver Medal and is also a four-time World Medalist, three-time four continents champion, and five times U.S. Champion.
• Dorothy Hamill- Though she has retired from skating, her stories is still new and fresh and inspires a lot. Being the 1976 Olympic champion in Ladies single and also 1976 world champion, she is a true example of dedication with love.

Types of skates-

There are 5 main types of skates which are-

• Figure skates- Mainly used in Figure skating, this unlike hockey skates have toe picks on the front of the blade and are generally made out of stainless steel or aluminium with a steel runner. The toe picks present are generally used for jumps in figure skating, like the Lutz Jump, toe loop, etc. The base of the figure skate blade is slightly concave  or hollow ground, that runs the length of the blade by creating two edges that come in contact with the ice.
• The Hockey Skate- Basically used while playing ice hockey and ringette. The boots are made up of molded plastic, leather, and ballistic nylon. The skates which are used during competitive hockey rarely used molded plastic. The skates used by the goaltenders are cut lower in the ankle unlike the normal ones and the boot sits closer to the ice for a lower centre of gravity.
• The Bandy Skate- Mainly used for playing Bandy, the boots are generally made up of leather and is lower than the hockey skates and thus it doesn’t actually cover the ankles.These skates are designed keeping in mind that it won’t hurt the opponents.
• The racing skate- These skates have long blades and are used for speed skating. For example, the clap skate is a type of skate in which the shoe is connected to the blade using a hinge.
• The touring skate- Also known as Nordic Skates, these are long blades that can be attached with the help of bindings and are meant for long distance tour skating on natural ice.