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The history of ice skating can be traced back to the ancient deer antlers and bones fashioned by Norse hunting tribes as the first primative ice skates

By the 1700's, the Dutch had innovated double metal blades to glide around frozen lakes and canals, or as a means of travel and commercial transport.

It was also the Dutch who are given credit for creating the first graceful skating maneuver known as the Dutch Roll. The French added even more style with the invention of spins and pirouettes. The sport got its official start with the formation of the the International Skating Union in 1892 and later received Olympic sanction at the 1924 Games in Chamonix, France featuring men's and ladies' singles and pair skating.

Ice dancing was later added at the 1976 Games in Innsbruck.

Today, figure skating and ice dancing are two of the top draws at the Winter Olympic Games, with fans around the world avidly following their favorite stars...

Figure skaters we watched in 2006:

Evgeni Plushenko - A three time World Champion, Plushenko has battled injuries since taking silver in Salt Lake City and missed last year's world championships. But he remains one of the greatest men's figure skaters of all time, and is a lock for gold in 2006 as he combines spectacular jumps with masterful artistry.

Irina Slutskaya - Although she took home silver in 2002, the reigning world champion has won the Olympic title in four out of the last five Games, and has recently been crowned European Champion for the seventh time, surpassing the historic six titles held by Katarina Witt and Sonja Henie.

Emily Hughes - Younger sister of Sarah Hughes, who took gold at Salt Lake City in 2002, Emily made headlines when she was asked to take the place of an injured Michelle Kwan. Hughes enters Olympic competition following her 2006 bronze medal win at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

Sasha Cohen - Finishing in fourth place the Salt Lake City Games in 2002, Cohen was a second place finisher in the world in 2004, and second in the U.S. to Michelle Kwan in 2004 and 2005. Named U.S. national champion in 2006, Cohen's many fans feel she may finally get a shot at Olympic gold this year.

Johnny Weir - Having only begun serious figure skating competition at age 13, Weir has since proved himself formidable competition among the world's best skaters and a favorite of national and world figure skating judges. In 2006, Weir took his third consecutive national figure skating title, automatically qualifying him for a berth at the 2006 Winter Olympics. His habit of indulging in flamboyant costumes and trash talk guarantees that if he doesn't medal, he'll make headlines...

More about Olympic figure skating around the Web:

International Olympic Committee - Figure Skating - Overview of the figure skating competitions, list of events, Olympic records, athlete profiles, picture gallery.

Figure Skating- Wikipedia - The online encyclopedia featuring descriptions of related equipment, disciplines, jumps & spins, steps & turns, competition format, scoring, plus a brief history and profiles of notable skaters.

United States Olympic Committee - Figure Skating - The latest headline news, photos, team bios, tips on how to get started in figure skating, FAQ.

U.S. Figure Skating - Headline news from the official Team USA site featuring pictures, skater profiles, events and results, TV schedule.

Slam! Sports - Figure Skating - Figure skating coverage from around the world with feature stories, headline news, pictures, schedules.