Due to the coronavirus pandemic limiting opportunities for skaters to compete during the past year only Lifetime Achievement Awards were handed out at this virtual edition.

The first of these awards went to British skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean who produced one of the greatest ice dancing performances at a Winter Olympics, when they won gold at Sarajevo 1984.

The pair’s dance to Bolero by composer Maurice Ravel received twelve scores of six and six scores of 5.9, as well as artistic impression scores of six from every judge.

Torvill and Dean also claimed Olympic bronze at Lillehammer 1994, and despite retiring from competition, still perform regularly on British television series Dancing On Ice, where famous personalities skate alongside professional skaters.  

Torvill and Dean said of their award: "From our point of view it has been a life giving exercise.

"We didn’t know that we would still be a part of figure skating this far into our lives and that was over 30 years ago, and we’re still doing it, maybe we shouldn’t be doing it but we are doing it and still enjoying it as well."

Moskvina and Mishin competed together in pairs skating in the 1960s, finishing fifth at the 1968 Winter Olympics and winning silver at the 1969 Figure Skating World Championships at Colorado Springs in the United States.

Moskvina has gone on to forge an unrivalled coaching career as the most successful pairs skating coach in the world.

Pairs coached by Moskvina have won a total of 63 medals at Olympic Games and World and European Championships.

"I have been involved in figure skating for a very long time and I am doing it with great pleasure and I love to make the audience happy not only in my country, but in the world," Moskvina said.

"I think the fact that I received this award shows that fans and sports leaders around the world appreciate this contribution."

Mishin has also coached several skaters to Olympic, World and European titles and is credited with developing many of the training tools and methods that are widely used today.

"In my life I have received prizes and awards and this ISU award on the eve of my 80th birthday is especially pleasant for me," said Mishin.

"It reflects not only my life in figure skating, but also the life of my students, my colleagues, my old friends - those with whom I have lived this great and long life in our favourite sport."

Both Moskvina and Mishin are coaching and preparing skaters for the upcoming season, which is scheduled to include the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.

The awards ceremony also featured live performances from some of the world’s top skaters including Russian world champion Anna Shcherbakova and world pairs skating champions Anastasia Mishina and Aleksandr Galliamov, also of Russia.