Have you seen Asahi News published data of a Japanese professor from Chukyo university saying Hanyu's quad are smaller than Uno? I don't need data to know it's dubious. I have seen them live many times and Hanyu's jumps are among the biggest with huge ice coverage while Uno's jumps are smaller and most of his quads look like triples. I wonder why that proffesor did that or he delibrately chose data of a bad jump from Hanyu to elevate Uno?
Yes I have seen it. Fascinating, isnât it?Â
For those who havenât, this is the data (translated from the Japanese original by me):
Setting aside all motives and data issues and whatnot, this data is fascinating because itâs telling me that:
(1) Weâve all been having optical illusion regarding the size of Yuzuruâs jumps, both standalone and in relation with the size of Shomaâs jumps.Â
A study published by the CBC in 2016 put the average height of quads at 60 cm, and another study done in 2007 estimated that the minimum height skater needs to get in order to have enough flight time for a quad is 21.4 inches, or 54 cm. Indeed, this study by Perform Live measured the height of Shomaâs quad flip to be 53 cm off ice. Also by Perform Live, this analysis measured Nathanâs quad Lutz as ranging from 53 cm to 74 cm, and Yuzuruâs quad Lutz this season, at 67 to 69 cm.
If Yuzuruâs quads are really 48 cm high on average in the 2016-2017 season, not only are his jumps 20% smaller than what the rest of the field are performing, but he doesnât even meet the bare minimum to do a quad at all. Â
Exhibition 1: Optical Illusion. His jumps really are a lot smaller than they appear to be.
Exhibition 2: Also Optical Illusion. His jumps really are bigger than they appear to be.
But thatâs not even the most amazing thing about this data, because thereâs this:
(2)Â Quick math: Shomaâs average flight time of 0.67 multiplied by his average rotational speed of 5.97 revolutions per second gives me an average of 4.0 in-air rotations on his quads, according to that data.Â
4.0 in-air rotations on his quads.
Anyone who has ever watched a slow motion replay of a skaterâs takeoff and landing and has paid enough attention can tell you that in a quadruple jump, a skater doesnât rotate a full 4 revolutions in the air (same goes for triples). That is because every jump has a natural degree of pre-rotation, or on-ice rotation, to it. See that quad toe Shoma did above: in order to take off for that jump you have to sweep your left leg behind to strike the ice. And because of the way the human speciesâ ankles are shaped, you canât help but point your toe at an angle for that jump (if you donât believe me just try acting out that motion by yourself). That angle can be anything from 45 to 90 degrees and above, but it exists, for all skaters, without exception.Â
Then we have another quad Shoma has been doing since last season: the loop, which has an even higher tendency of pre-rotation to it. Most skaters take off for this jump at 120 to 180 degrees of PR.Â
Exhibition 3: Quad Loop Takeoff, by Yuzuru
Exhibition 4: Quad Loop Takeoff, by Shoma   Â
So, provided that, for 2 out of the 3 types of quads Shoma does, the number of rotations cannot reasonably exceed 3.75, and yet he averages 4.0 on his quads, I can only conclude that for his one remaining type of quad, the flip, Shoma routinely rotates for more than 4.0 revolutions in the air, which would make them not quadruple flips at all, but QUINTUPLE FLIPS, or something very close to it.
Exhibition 5: Another Optical Illusion. This jump is actually a quint.
I am having too much fun with this. I apologize if this annoys/offends anyone. Really though, Iâve said this before and I repeat it now: do take everything the media surrounding figure skating puts out with a grain of salt, especially in this Olympic season.
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