# Early Champions · Figure Skating Level 9: Master

Figure Skating · Level 9: Master · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/figure-skating/level-9/early-champions/)

Early Champions in Figure Skating (Level 9: Master) on Insporta: 20 sourced facts behind 2 tests. Covers: salchow and henie; grafström and the 1920s.

Salchow, Henie, Grafström and Planck-Szabo.

## Test 1: Salchow and Henie

- Salchow won ten World titles: 1901 to 1905 and 1907 to 1911. (Source: Olympedia, Ulrich Salchow)
- He did not compete at the 1906 Worlds in Munich, between his two runs of five titles. (Source: Olympedia, Ulrich Salchow)
- Salchow was President of the International Skating Union from 1925 to 1937. (Source: Olympedia, Ulrich Salchow)
- Henie made her Olympic debut at Chamonix aged 11 and finished eighth of eight. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)
- Henie won ten straight World titles from 1927 to 1936, alongside six European titles. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)
- She made ten feature films in Hollywood and toured with ice revues, becoming one of the richest athletes of her time. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)
- Ten World titles is a record shared by Salchow, Henie and Rodnina. (Source: Olympedia, Ulrich Salchow)
- Henie won at St. Moritz 1928, Lake Placid 1932 and Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)
- 1924 debut, first World title in 1927, third Olympic gold in 1936, then her film career. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)
- D runs unbroken from 1927 to 1936. A is Salchow's two runs with a gap in 1906; B and C are short runs. (Source: Olympedia, Sonja Henie)

## Test 2: Grafström and the 1920s

- Grafström won in Antwerp 1920, Chamonix 1924 and St. Moritz 1928, then took silver in 1932. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- One blade broke and could not be replaced, so he bought an old-fashioned pair in town and still won. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- Olympedia credits him with the Grafström spin and the flying sit spin. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- Grafström later coached Sonja Henie. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- He studied architecture in Berlin and worked as an architect in Potsdam. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- A mistake in the compulsory figures cost Grafström the gold; Austria's Karl Schäfer won. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- Herma Planck-Szabo was the heavy favourite at Chamonix and won comfortably. (Source: Olympedia, 1924 Winter Olympics)
- He won in Stockholm 1922, Manchester 1924 and London 1929. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- Three golds in a row, 1920, 1924 and 1928, then silver in 1932. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)
- B has three golds and then a silver. A and C mix in missing medals; D wins only once. (Source: Olympedia, Gillis Grafström)

Sources: ISU History; ISU, Figure skating jumps explained (2026); Olympedia (overview, 1908, 1924, 1972, 1976, 2002 and athlete pages); U.S. Figure Skating, World Figure Skating Hall of Fame. Every fact is recorded with its source in docs/FIGURE_SKATING_VERIFIED_FACTS.md. Original questions authored, nothing reproduced.

Take the tests: https://insporta.app/try?utm_source=book&utm_medium=referral