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LONDON, Ontario—No quad, no medal.

And one might not be enough.





And they're doing them, all right.



"It's essential," Chan said after his practice. "If you look at the number of skaters at the world championships—and most international events—the average is the top 10 are doing quads. It's amazing to see the development. I don't think it's ever been that abundant."


By the late 1990s the quad had become, if not a staple of men's skating, at least a common sight. Elvis Stojko, Alexei Yagudin, Evgeni Plushenko, Stephane Lambiel, Brian Joubert—they all had quads, and most had more than one. American Timothy Goebel landed three—count 'em, three—in his free skate on his way to the bronze medal at the Salt Lake Olympics in 2002.








"With the way the system is now, it's a necessity," Miner said.

Aaron agreed.

"You can't make up that many points with the components," Aaron said. "I've actually looked into that; I'm a math guy and I crunch numbers. You really can't make up the numbers with the component aspect, so you have to make it up in the air. That's why two quads in the long program is key. I don't think skating will go back."

It's not all quad toes, either. Guys are branching out with quad salchows, and some are working on quad lutzes and loops.

Some are even looking at putting a fourth quad in the free skate.

"It's here to stay," Orser said. "Oh yeah."


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