A somersault in figure skating is no more dangerous than a quadruple throw, says Enbert

Olympic silver medalist in team competition Alexandre Enbert believes that the somersault in figure skating, prohibited by the rules of the International Skating Union (ISU), is no more dangerous than a number of other elements.

A few days ago, French figure skater Adam Xiao Him Fa performed a backflip during his free program at the European Championships in Kaunas (Lithuania) and won tournament gold. The ISU banned this item in 1976 due to the increased risk of injury. The judges deducted three points from the skater, which did not prevent Xiao Him Fa from winning.

– Adam is in favor of the ISU allowing somersaults to be performed in programs – do I support his idea? When I skate in shows, I see somersaults quite often, and to me it doesn’t seem any more difficult than, say, a triple toe. It depends on what you compare it to. Probably, when you play sports and you don’t see a turnaround, it seems to you that it’s practically a circus trick. And while skating in the show, you see how many guys are doing somersaults, and you start to think that’s safer than most of the things included in figure skating.

Now a somersault does not seem more dangerous to me than, for example, a quadruple throw. Maybe they will allow it,” Enbert told Championship.

Championship