Some skaters can self correct mid-air but this is very hard to do. - Because the degree of precision required is so exacting, even the smallest fluctuations in environment, skater temperament, ice conditions can have some impact on the outcome. read more
For skaters, all those hours, jumps and training are boiled down to around six or seven minutes. That's what makes the Olympics' skating competition so wonderful and so heartbreaking: skaters don't necessarily have to be the best, they just have to be the best for seven minutes (see: Lipinski, Tara). read more
Skipping quintuple jumps all that (I doubt we'll ever see Quad Axels become the norm in men's skating), the difficulty of jumps varies with each skater. While it's said that the Toe Loop and Salchow are of equal difficulty, I find the Toe Loop to be the hardest of the 5 jumps. I find the Lutz to be relatively easy. read more