Axel Paulsen

Axel Paulsen (1855–1938) was a Norwegian speed skater and figure skater who invented the Axel jump, first performing it in 1882.

Sonja Henie: Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater who won three Olympic gold medals and helped popularize the sport. A later Norwegian skating champion whose career illustrates the sport Paulsen helped shape.
Axel jump: A figure-skating jump launched from a forward outside edge, with one extra half rotation compared with other jumps. This is Paulsen’s defining invention and the element bearing his name.
Norwegian skating: A tradition of skating in Norway shaped by the country’s cold climate, outdoor ice, and organized winter sports. Paulsen’s skating developed within Norway’s strong nineteenth-century ice-skating culture.
Triple Axel: A figure-skating jump with three and a half rotations, taking off from a forward outside edge. It carries Paulsen’s jump to a major modern benchmark of difficulty.
Ulrich Salchow: Ulrich Salchow was a Swedish figure skater who won Olympic gold in 1908 and invented the Salchow jump. His namesake jump joined Paulsen’s as a foundational element of figure skating.
Figure skating jump: An airborne figure-skating element in which a skater takes off from an edge or toe pick and rotates before landing. The Axel belongs to this broader family of rotational elements.
Oslo: Oslo is the capital of Norway, historically known as Christiania until 1925. Paulsen was born and raised in Christiania, now Oslo.
Quadruple Axel: A figure-skating jump with four and a half rotations, taking off from a forward outside edge. Its completion in competition represents the latest extension of the jump Paulsen created.
Theresa Weld: Theresa Weld was an American figure skater who won Olympic bronze in 1920 and pioneered the one-foot Axel. Her early one-foot Axel helped develop Paulsen’s jump into its modern form.
Forward outside edge: A skating glide on one foot along a curve, with the blade’s outside edge leading and the skater moving forward. The Axel’s takeoff begins from this specific edge.

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Gillis GrafströmRelated: Paulsen’s namesake jump became part of the technical vocabulary Grafström helped develop.