The toe loop jump is the simplest of the six jumps in the sport of figure skating. It was invented in the 1920s by American professional figure skater Bruce Mapes, who may have also invented the flip jump.
The skater skates forward on the inside edge of the blade, switches to a backward-facing position, and takes off from a back outside edge with help from the other foot's toe pick. The skater lands on the same back outside edge.
In competition, the toe loop is the most commonly performed jump and the most common second jump of a combination. The base value of a single toe loop is 0.40; the base value of a double toe loop is 1.30; the base value of a triple toe loop is 4.20; the base value of a quadruple toe loop is 9.50, and the base value for a quintuple toe loop is 14.
Firsts
| Abbr. | Jump element | Skater | Nation | Event | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3T | Triple toe loop | Thomas Litz | United States | 1964 World Championships | |
| 4T | Quadruple toe loop (men's) | Kurt Browning | Canada | 1988 World Championships | |
| Quadruple toe loop (women's) | Alexandra Trusova | Russia | 2018 World Junior Championships | ||
| 4T+2T | Quad toe loop-double toe loop | Elvis Stojko | Canada | 1991 World Championships | |
| 4T+3T | Quad toe loop-triple toe loop (men's) | ||||
| Quad toe loop-triple toe loop (women's) | Alexandra Trusova | Russia | 2018 Junior Grand Prix Lithuania | ||
| 4T+3T+2Lo | Quad toe loop-triple toe loop-double loop | Evgeni Plushenko | 1999 NHK Trophy | ||
| 4T+3T+3Lo | Quad toe loop-triple toe loop-triple loop | 2002 Cup of Russia | |||
| 4T+3T+3T | Quad toe loop-triple toe loop-triple toe loop | Kevin van der Perren | Belgium | 2010 World Championships | |
| 4T+1Eu+3S | Quad toe loop-Euler-triple Salchow | Alexei Yagudin | Russia | 2001 Skate Canada International | |
| 4T+1Eu+3F | Quad toe loop-Euler-triple flip | Yuzuru Hanyu | Japan | 2019 Skate Canada International | |
| 4T+3A+SEQ | Quad toe loop-triple Axel | 2018 Grand Prix of Helsinki | |||
| 4S+3T | Quad Salchow-triple toe loop | Timothy Goebel | United States | 1999 Skate America | |
| 4Lz+3T | Quad lutz-triple toe loop | Jin Boyang | China | 2015 Cup of China | |
| 3A+4T | Triple Axel-quad toe loop | Mikhail Shaidorov | Kazakhstan | 2024 Grand Prix de France |
Technique
The toe loop is considered the simplest jump because not only do skaters use their toe-picks to execute it, but their hips are already facing the direction in which they will rotate. The toe loop is the easier jump to add multiple rotations to because the toe-assisted takeoff adds power to the jump, and because a skater can turn their body toward the assisting foot at takeoff, which slightly reduces the rotation required in the air. It is often added to more difficult jumps during combinations and is the most common second jump performed in combinations. It is also the most commonly attempted jump, as well as "the most commonly cheated on take off jump", or a jump in which the first rotation starts on the ice rather than in the air.
According to figure skating researcher Deborah King and her colleagues, the toe loop jump can be divided into four key events and three phases. The key events are: the toe-pick, or the moment the skater places their toepick into the ice; the take-off, or the last contact they make with the ice; the jump's maximum height; and the landing, or the moment the skater returns to the ice. The three phases are: the approach, which begins when the skater initiates the three turn entry into the jump and ends when they initiate the toe-pick; propulsion, which begins at the toe-pick and ends at take-off; and flight, which begins at take-off and ends at landing.
A skater initiates a toe loop done in isolation with a forward approach on the inside edge of the blade, then switches to a backward-facing position before its takeoff. The takeoff is accomplished from a back outside edge and with assistance from the toepick of the other foot. The jump is exited from the back outside edge of the same foot.
The skater may arrive on the back outside edge either as the back outside edge exiting from a forward three turn initiated on the inside edge, or from a forward three turn initiated on the outside edge and exited on the inside edge, followed by a change of foot. When the toe loop is done in combination, the back outside edge is the landing of the previous jump. After completing the three turn or previous jump, the skater reaches their free leg behind them and slightly outside the direction they are traveling, much like a pole-vaulter; this is the opposite foot they will use to land. Then they place the toepick in the ice with the free leg, and jump while pulling the take-off leg back and around and reaching forward and around with the arm and shoulder on the same side as the take-off leg, thus achieving the rotation. They draw their arms into the body for the desired number of rotations. At the time of take-off, the skater should face forward, with their free leg approximately parallel to their take-off foot and with their arms as close to their body as possible, which results in keeping their arms and legs close to their bodies and remaining in tight rotating positions at the moment of take-off. This helps attain faster rotational velocities in the air.
King and her colleagues, when they studied quadruple toe loop jumps at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, counted 71 attempted quadruple toe loop jumps or quadruple toe-loop combination jumps. Of those, there were 33 quadruple toe loops performed not in combination with other jumps, 13 of which were landed cleanly, without a fall, without the skater touching a hand down on the ice, or without stepping out of the landing onto the other foot. They also found that "the most significant aspect" for completing toe loop jumps was the ability to increase rotational velocity while in the air. King also found that skaters who performed quadruple toe loops began to rotate their shoulders earlier than in triples, so that by the time they completed their toe-pick, their hips and shoulders were more aligned about their longitudinal axes. As a result, their hips and shoulders turned more uniformly during the propulsion phase of the jump. Vertical take-off velocity, however, was higher for both quadruple and triple toe loops, resulting in "higher jumps and more time in the air to complete the extra revolution for the quadruple toe-loop".
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