How to Spot a Clean Triple Toe Loop From a Two-Foot Landing
When the ISU Grand Prix Final rolls into the Palavela in Turin, plenty of Australians stay up late to catch the competition. Most figure skating fans from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane have trained at rinks such as Macquarie Ice Rink, O'Brien Group Arena or Iceworld Boondall, so they know their axels from their lutzes. The triple toe loop sits at the top of the conversation because every senior and junior programme features it, and the difference between a clean execution and a sloppy one is often the difference between the podium and the middle of the pack.
Aussie commentators love a bit of banter, and figure skating has a growing niche following across the country, even outside the Olympic windows. SBS and Seven regularly broadcast the Grand Prix events, and viewers are getting sharper at spotting the technicalities that determine whether a skater goes home with a pay cheque or a "coulda woulda" story. Toe loops come up constantly in conversation because they are the most repeated triple in competition, and because a two-foot landing on one is rarely forgiven by the panel.
The triple toe loop is a toe-assisted jump with three full rotations in the air. Skaters pick into the ice with the right toe, rotate on the left backward outside edge, and land on the right back outside edge. It looks simple, but in real time the rotation is fast, the take-off is brief, and the landing foot is exposed for a fraction of a second. Whether the blade hits the ice on one clean edge or whether the free foot slams down beside it defines the difference between a Grade of Execution near zero and one that drops well into negative territory.
Anyone who has sat through a free skate with a slow-motion replay queue knows the pattern: a slight stagger, a flick of the free leg, a brief twitch in the upper body. Those are the breadcrumbs that separate a proper triple from a downgraded or two-footed mess. This guide breaks down what your eyes should be tracking from the moment the skater enters the jump, through the air, and into the landing, so the next time a commentator says "that was clean", you can nod along without taking their word for it.
The Mechanics of the Triple Toe Loop
The triple toe loop starts on a right back outside edge, with the skater gliding backwards on the left foot. The right toe pick strikes the ice behind the body, helping the skater launch into the air. The left leg drives upward while the arms pull in tight to the chest, producing three complete rotations. The jump finishes on the right back outside edge, with the free left leg extended behind and the arms stretched out to control the rotation.
Skaters like Kailani Craine, who represented Australia at two Winter Games, built a career on nailing this element with textbook form. Her approach to the take-off is unhurried, the toe pick bites cleanly, and her air position is compact. By contrast, a hurried entry often shows up as a pre-rotation, where the upper body starts turning before the toe pick has finished its job. The ISU judging system treats any pre-rotation of more than 90 degrees as an under-rotation, and the triple becomes a double with a q-mark beside it.
What makes the triple toe loop unique among the six triple jumps is that the toe pick provides an extra boost, which is why even small junior skaters can rotate three times without much height. The downside is that the take-off is shorter and more explosive, so a tiny timing error at the start ripples all the way through to the landing. When a skater rushes the take-off, the rotation speed drops, the air time shrinks, and the body never quite reaches the correct landing position.
What Makes a Landing "Clean"
A clean landing on a triple toe loop means the right back outside edge hits the ice and holds, with the free leg trailing in a controlled arc, the back straight, and the arms out to the side. There is no second foot touching down, no stumble, no flailing, and the skater exits the jump into the next element without breaking the flow of the programme. The blade of the landing foot is perpendicular to the direction of travel, and the edge grips the ice rather than skidding.
The Grade of Execution reflects these details. A clean landing with good height, a tight air position, and a strong exit can earn a plus two or plus three from each judge. The cumulative GOE is added to the base value of the jump, which for a triple toe loop is 4.2 points. A clean triple in a short programme can therefore be worth five points or more, and that single element can swing a competition.
Speed is also a marker. Skaters who arrive at the toe pick with good momentum usually exit the jump with speed to spare, which allows them to launch straight into a spread eagle, Ina Bauer, or connecting step. When the landing is clean, the run-out feels effortless. When it is not, the skater has to fight to recover, and the music catches up before they do.
Common Faults Before the Landing
Errors that lead to a two-foot landing usually start before the skater leaves the ice. A pre-rotation on the take-off eats up air time, and the skater opens out early to find the landing. A late pick, where the toe pick is dragged rather than struck, reduces the spring and forces the skater to pull in harder with the arms. Either mistake leaves the skater slightly under-rotated in the air.
Free leg position matters too. If the free leg is held too low, the skater rotates slowly. If it swings wildly, the air position becomes lopsided and the landing leg arrives at the wrong angle. Coaches in places like the Macquarie Ice Rink in Sydney drill their skaters to keep the free leg tight and high, because a stable air position is the foundation of a stable landing.
The upper body is often the giveaway. A skater whose shoulders are square to the ice on take-off will usually rotate cleanly. A skater whose shoulders dip or twist is fighting the rotation, and you can see the wobble a full rotation before the landing. This is the moment when the judges are already writing down their GOE scores, even if the jump is not yet finished.
The Two-Foot Landing in Slow Motion
A two-foot landing is exactly what it sounds like: the skater touches down on both feet instead of one. The free foot slaps the ice a fraction of a second after the landing foot, often with a small spray of shaved ice, and the upper body drops as the skater absorbs the impact. The result is a jump that looks heavy, even if the rotation was technically correct.
In slow motion, the second foot usually lands flat rather than on its outside edge. The blade skids, the knee bends sharply, and the free leg swings forward to compensate. The whole landing takes a beat longer than it should, and the skater loses the speed needed to set up the next element. Judges see the second foot and immediately deduct, because a triple with a two-foot landing is no longer treated as a fully rotated triple.
The most common reason for the two-foot landing is under-rotation. The skater enters the third rotation late, realises they are not facing the direction of travel, and forces the free foot down to catch up. The second most common reason is a flat take-off edge, which makes the jump drift sideways and forces a wider base on landing. Either way, the visual cue is the same: the feet arrive at the ice at almost the same moment, and the body buckles slightly to take the weight.
Reading the Judges Through Body Position
Judges score what they see, and what they see is the body. A clean triple has an open chest, a trailing free leg, and a long exit. A two-foot landing has a hunched upper body, a forward-falling free leg, and a tight, hurried exit. The free programme scores reflect those differences, and the replay tells the story that the live broadcast cannot.
The ISU has tightened its standards in recent years, and pre-rotation is now penalised more harshly than it used to be. A skater who would have received full credit for a triple toe loop a decade ago may now receive a q-mark, or worse, a clear sign that the element has been downgraded. For Australian fans, this shift is good news, because it rewards skaters who train the technical details rather than relying on charm and presentation to mask sloppy jumping.
Channeling the obsession of an AFL supporter breaking down a contested mark, figure skating fans can read the same jump in different ways. Some look at the toe pick entry, some look at the air position, some look at the run-out. All of those readings converge on the same conclusion: a clean triple is balanced, a two-foot landing is forced, and the difference is visible in the body long before the score appears on the screen.
Australian Skating Culture and Watching From Down Under
Australia's figure skating community is small but loyal. Training hubs in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth feed into the national squad, and the AIS in Canberra has helped develop a steady stream of competitors. The time difference between Turin and Australia means the final often streams in the early hours, and arvo sessions at local rinks are filled with skaters dissecting the performances they watched that morning.
Local commentary leans on Aussie phrasing. A "ripper" of a triple, a "beaut" of a landing, a "stuff-up" of a take-off. The sport fits awkwardly into the Australian sporting calendar, which is dominated by cricket in summer and AFL or NRL in winter, but figure skating has carved out a corner, particularly during the Olympic cycle. The annual Allianz event, which brings together top international skaters, is one of the few opportunities for Australian fans to see elite-level jumping in person, and tickets usually sell out within days.
| Element | Clean Triple Toe Loop | Two-Foot Landing |
|---|---|---|
| Toe pick entry | Strikes cleanly with full spring | Drags, late, or shallow |
| Air position | Compact, arms tight, free leg controlled | Loose, off-balance, arms flailing |
| Rotation | Three full rotations before landing | Under-rotated, opened early |
| Landing foot | Right back outside edge, perpendicular | Lands at an angle, blade skids |
| Free foot | Trails behind, no contact with ice | Slaps down beside landing foot |
| Upper body | Chest open, shoulders square | Hunched, shoulders twist |
| Run-out speed | Maintained, flows into next element | Lost, stumbles into next element |
| Grade of Execution | Plus two to plus three | Minus two to minus three |
| Base value | 4.2 points treated as full triple | Downgraded or voided |
| Audience cue | "That was clean" | "That was downgraded" |
Spotting the Difference Like a Pro
- Watch the free leg in the air. If it stays tight and high, the landing is usually clean. If it swings forward, expect a two-foot landing.
- Listen for the landing. One foot on the ice sounds like a soft thump. Two feet sound like a slap, often with a spray of ice.
- Look at the toe pick on entry. A clean strike produces visible spray and a strong spring. A dragged pick produces no spray and a flat launch.
- Check the shoulders. Square shoulders on take-off mean clean rotation. Twisting or dipping shoulders mean the skater is fighting the spin.
- Track the run-out. A clean triple exits with the skater already setting up the next element. A two-foot landing is followed by a stumble or a hurried recovery.
- Use the slow-motion replay. Live broadcasts often miss the details, but the replay will show the free foot slap on every questionable landing.
- Compare across skaters. Once you have seen a dozen clean triples, the messy ones stand out without anyone having to explain them.
The Torino 2019 final is the perfect place to put these tips into practice. Watch the senior ladies and the ice dancers, who pack their programmes with triple toe loops, and pay close attention to how the top finishers handle the simplest triple in the book. For more on the technical side of the sport, and to follow other major international events, the Allianz championship website offers schedules, results, and background on the skaters who are setting the standard. Grab a coffee, set the alarm for the early arvo broadcast, and enjoy the skating.