How Olympic Ice Skates are Designed for Speed, Spins, and Swerves

By Robert Sorokanich on at

Watching the world-class ice athletes of the Winter Olympics -- whether it's in speed skating, figure skating or hockey -- is a jaw-dropping affair. The speed, control, and dexterity they exhibit while somehow balancing on a metal blade is simply amazing. But what exactly is going on with those blades? Smarter Every Day's Destin Sandlin shows us the fascinating physics and engineering that goes into every pair of Olympic skates.

Those blades may all look pretty similar on your TV screen, but figure skating, speed skating, and hockey blades each have a very unique design idealised for the challenges of each sport. While there's still no replacement for pure athletic talent, we won't call you out if you blame your lack of Olympic skating ability on sub-par blades. [Smarter Every Day]