Hello! I have a tricky question (at least, I think). What is the most difficult jump combination? I started watching figure skating recently, and looked on the Internet to find information - I have read that the Axel is the most difficult jump. So I was wondering if there are particularly hard jump combinations too, but to me they all seem impossible XD I hope this makes sense! Sorry to bother you with such questions
Thanks for asking! And don’t worry about bothering me with questions, ask as many as you like, especially with Worlds coming up next week!
Now for the bad news: there’s no real answer to that question. The Axel is considered the most difficult type of jump, because it takes off forward and has an extra half revolution. But no-one’s going to dispute that a quad toe is harder than the double Axel.
In general terms, for straight up combinations, a tail end loop (say, 3T-3Lo) is considered harder than a toe loop (3T-3T). Not only because the loop is worth more, but because of the mechanics of the jump - the loop is very hard to take off from without excessive pre-rotation (which is why many tail end loop combos get < or <<). Probably the hardest tail-end loop combination we’ve seen was Plushenko’s trademark 4T-3T-3Lo.
In terms of half-loop combinations, the hardest one that has been landed in competition is the 3A-1Lo-3F. This is also very difficult due to mechanics, and if you have a dodgy flip edge it might not be worth it. Again, Plushenko was the pioneer on this one.
With all that said, so far I have been ranking “hardest” in terms of how many points a combination is worth. Difficulty can vary from skater to skater. Some skaters find certain jumps easier than others, which of course changes the issue again.
Probably the craziest combination we’ve ever seen in practice is a 3A-4T. Plushenko did one in practice a couple of years ago (because his crazy doesn’t fade with age) and Uno did one in practice at 4CC. Although, I have seen a video of Brendan Kerry attempting a 4T-1Lo-4S, which is just ludicrous.