Aksel Lund SvindalAlberto TombaFederica BrignoneFranz KlammerHermann MaierIngemar StenmarkJanica KostelicJean-Claude KillyKjetil Andre AamodtLara Gut-BehramiLindsey VonnMarcel HirscherMikaela ShiffrinPicabo StreetPirmin ZurbriggenSofia GoggiaToni SailerVreni SchneiderBode MillerDidier CucheAnnemarie Moser-ProllDeborah CompagnoniKatja SeizingerTina MazeMarc GirardelliAnja ParsonRosi MittermaierJulia MancusoTed LigetyMarco Odermatt
Rankings & Lists

Greatest Figure Skaters of All Time

The greatest figure skaters and ice dancers of all time, ranked by Olympic and World Championship achievement across singles, pairs and ice dance — from the golden age of figures to the modern jump-heavy era.

50Athletes Ranked
⛸️Figure Skating

The greatest figure skaters and ice dancers of all time, ranked by Olympic and World Championship achievement across singles, pairs and ice dance — from the golden age of figures to the modern jump-heavy era.

Methodology: Olympic gold medals and World Championship titles are the primary ranking criteria. The technical difficulty of the era in which an athlete competed is considered: pre-jump-revolution champions are assessed against their own competitive landscape. Artistic legacy and influence on the sport also factor in.

Top 10

1
SH

Norwegian·Figure Skating

Sonja Henie

Norwegian figure skater who dominated women's skating from 1927-1936, winning 3 Olympic golds and 10 consecutive World Championships before

3 Olympic golds · 10 world titles

Read bio →
2
YH

Japanese·Figure Skating

Yuzuru Hanyu

Japanese figure skater, two-time Olympic champion and first to land quadruple loop in competition. Known for technical innovation and artist

2 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

Read bio →
3
KW

German·Figure Skating

Katarina Witt

German figure skater who dominated women's singles in the 1980s, winning consecutive Olympic golds in 1984 and 1988 plus four World Champion

2 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

Read bio →
4
MK

American·Figure Skating

Michelle Kwan

American figure skater who dominated women's skating in the late 1990s and early 2000s, winning five World Championships and two Olympic med

5 world titles

Read bio →
5
EP

Russian·Figure Skating

Evgeni Plushenko

Russian figure skater who won Olympic gold in 2006 and is considered one of the greatest men's singles skaters in history with four Olympic

2 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
6
DB

American·Figure Skating

Dick Button

American figure skater who won two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive World Championships, revolutionizing men's figure skating in the

2 Olympic golds · 5 world titles

Read bio →
7
TA

British·Figure Skating

Torvill and Dean

British ice dancers who achieved perfection at the 1984 Olympics with their legendary Bolero routine, winning gold with twelve perfect 6.0 s

1 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

Read bio →
8
PF

American·Figure Skating

Peggy Fleming

American figure skater who won the United States' only gold medal at the 1968 Winter Olympics, credited with reviving American figure skatin

1 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
9
KY

American·Figure Skating

Kristi Yamaguchi

American figure skater who became the first Asian American to win a Winter Olympics gold medal, after starting as a pairs skater before swit

1 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

Read bio →
10
SH

American·Figure Skating

Scott Hamilton

American figure skater who won Olympic gold in 1984 and four consecutive World Championships from 1981-1984, later becoming a prominent comm

1 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

Read bio →

11–25

11
AY

Russian·Figure Skating

Alexei Yagudin

Russian figure skater who achieved a rare Golden Slam in 2002, winning every major title in the same season, and received unanimous first-pl

1 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

Read bio →
12
KY

South Korean·Figure Skating

Kim Yuna

South Korean figure skater who became the 2010 Olympic champion and first Korean to win an Olympic medal in figure skating, setting multiple

1 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

Read bio →
13
BB

American·Figure Skating

Brian Boitano

American figure skater who won Olympic gold in 1988 and is considered one of the greatest male figure skaters in history with multiple world

1 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

Read bio →
14
DH

American·Figure Skating

Dorothy Hamill

American figure skater who won 1976 Olympic gold with a routine containing no triple jumps, and became a cultural icon for her signature wed

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
15
JC

British·Figure Skating

John Curry

British figure skater who became the first British man to win Olympic gold in the sport in 1976, revolutionizing men's skating by fusing bal

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
16
TL

American·Figure Skating

Tara Lipinski

American figure skater who became the youngest Olympic champion in individual figure skating history, winning gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympi

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
17
NC

American·Figure Skating

Nathan Chen

American figure skater who became Olympic champion in 2022 and revolutionized men's skating with his quadruple jump mastery and technical in

2 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
18
TV

Canadian·Figure Skating

Tessa Virtue

Canadian ice dancer who won three Olympic gold medals and became the most decorated figure skater in Olympic history with partner Scott Moir

3 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
19
EG

Russian·Figure Skating

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov

Russian husband-and-wife pairs team regarded as the greatest in figure skating history, winning two Olympic golds and four World titles befo

2 Olympic golds · 4 world titles

Read bio →
20
AZ

Russian·Figure Skating

Alina Zagitova

Russian figure skater who won Olympic gold at PyeongChang 2018, becoming the youngest Olympic champion in ladies' singles since 1998 at age

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
21
SA

Japanese·Figure Skating

Shizuka Arakawa

Japanese figure skater who became the first Asian woman to win Olympic singles gold, claiming victory at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics with

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
22
AS

German·Figure Skating

Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot

German pairs team who won Olympic gold in 2018 with a world-record free skate, the culmination of Ukrainian-born Aliona Savchenko's fifth Ol

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
23
MD

American·Figure Skating

Meryl Davis and Charlie White

American ice dance duo who became the first Americans to win Olympic ice dance gold, capping a 17-year partnership that began when they were

1 Olympic golds · 2 world titles

Read bio →
24
GP

French·Figure Skating

Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron

French ice dance duo who won a record-tying five World Championship titles and Olympic gold in 2022, four years after a heartbreaking near-m

1 Olympic golds · 5 world titles

Read bio →
25
OB

Ukrainian·Figure Skating

Oksana Baiul

Ukrainian figure skater who overcame the deaths of her mother and grandparents to win the 1994 Olympic gold medal at just 16, becoming indep

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →

26–50

26
MI

Japanese·Figure Skating

Midori Ito

Japanese figure skater who became the first woman in history to land a triple Axel in competition, and the first Asian World Champion in any

1 world titles

Read bio →
27
SH

American·Figure Skating

Sarah Hughes

American figure skater who produced one of the biggest upsets in Olympic history, winning gold in 2002 from fourth place after the short pro

1 Olympic golds

Read bio →
28
PC

Canadian·Figure Skating

Patrick Chan

The most decorated male figure skater in Canadian history, a three-time World Champion known as the 'King of Skating Skills' for his excepti

1 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
29
MA

Japanese·Figure Skating

Mao Asada

Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion, the first woman to land three triple Axel jumps in a single competition, a Guinness Wo

3 world titles

Read bio →
30
IS

Russian·Figure Skating

Irina Slutskaya

Russian figure skater who holds the women's record of seven European Championship titles and invented the double Biellmann spin with a foot

2 world titles

Read bio →
31
CK

Italian·Figure Skating

Carolina Kostner

Italy's most decorated figure skater, the 2012 World Champion and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist, who holds the record for most European Champ

1 world titles

Read bio →
32
ES

Canadian·Figure Skating

Elvis Stojko

Canadian figure skater and two-time Olympic silver medalist who pioneered the quadruple jump combination, becoming the first skater ever to

3 world titles

Read bio →
33
KB

Canadian·Figure Skating

Kurt Browning

Canadian figure skater who became the first person in history to land a quadruple jump in competition, going on to win four World Championsh

4 world titles

Read bio →
34
SB

French·Figure Skating

Surya Bonaly

French figure skater and pioneering Black athlete who became the first skater to land a backflip on one blade in Olympic competition, defyin

5x European Champion (1991-1995)

Read bio →
35
EM

Russian·Figure Skating

Evgenia Medvedeva

Russian figure skater who won back-to-back World Championships and set the world record score 13 times, becoming the first skater to complet

2 world titles

Read bio →
36
JF

Spanish·Figure Skating

Javier Fernandez

Spain's first-ever figure skating World Champion and Olympic medalist, a two-time World champion who trained under coach Brian Orser in Toro

2 world titles

Read bio →
37
DT

American·Figure Skating

Debi Thomas

American figure skater who became the first Black athlete to win a medal at the Winter Olympics, later becoming an orthopedic surgeon.

1 world titles

Read bio →
38
AS

Russian·Figure Skating

Adelina Sotnikova

Russian figure skater who became the first Russian woman to win Olympic gold in ladies' singles, in a controversial home-soil victory at the

1 Olympic golds

Read bio →
39
MA

Japanese·Figure Skating

Miki Ando

Japanese figure skater and the only woman in history to land a quadruple jump in competition, a two-time World Champion who dedicated her se

2 world titles

Read bio →
40
KO

Canadian·Figure Skating

Kaetlyn Osmond

Canada's most decorated female figure skater, who became world champion just weeks after winning Olympic bronze, ending a 45-year wait for a

1 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
41
SC

American·Figure Skating

Sasha Cohen

American figure skater renowned for exceptional flexibility and artistry, who won Olympic silver in 2006 and remains one of the sport's most

2006 Olympic Silver Medal

Read bio →
42
NK

American·Figure Skating

Nancy Kerrigan

American figure skater who won Olympic silver just weeks after being attacked by an assailant hired by rival Tonya Harding's ex-husband, in

1994 Olympic Silver Medal

Read bio →
43
DT

Kazakhstani·Figure Skating

Denis Ten

Kazakhstani figure skater who won his country's first-ever Olympic figure skating medal in 2014, before his tragic death at 25 following a r

2014 Olympic Bronze Medal (Kazakhstan's first-ever figure skating medal)

Read bio →
44
IM

American·Figure Skating

Ilia Malinin

American figure skater nicknamed the 'Quad God', the only person to land a quadruple Axel in competition and the only skater to cleanly land

1 Olympic golds · 3 world titles

Read bio →
45
AL

American·Figure Skating

Alysa Liu

American figure skater who came out of a two-year retirement to win Olympic gold in 2026, becoming the first American woman to top the podiu

2 Olympic golds · 1 world titles

Read bio →
46
SM

Canadian·Figure Skating

Scott Moir

Scott Moir is a Canadian ice dancer who, with partner Tessa Virtue, became the most decorated figure skater in Olympic history, winning thre

3 Olympic golds

Read bio →
47
BA

Canadian·Figure Skating

Barbara Ann Scott

Barbara Ann Scott was a Canadian figure skater and the 1948 Olympic champion, the only Canadian ever to win Olympic gold in women's singles

1 Olympic golds

Read bio →
48
BO

Canadian·Figure Skating

Brian Orser

Brian Orser is a Canadian former figure skater and 2x Olympic silver medallist, famed for the 'Battle of the Brians' rivalry with Brian Boit

2x Olympic silver medal (1984, 1988)

Read bio →
49
SU

Japanese·Figure Skating

Shoma Uno

Shoma Uno is a retired Japanese figure skater and three-time Olympic medallist, a two-time World Champion known for pioneering the quadruple

Olympic silver, men's singles (2018)

Read bio →
50
KS

Japanese·Figure Skating

Kaori Sakamoto

Kaori Sakamoto is a retired Japanese figure skater and three-time World Champion who won an Olympic bronze medal in 2022 and two Olympic tea

Olympic bronze, women's singles (2022)

Read bio →