When was the clap skate introduced?

Strikingly, the clap skate had first been developed as early as the late 19th century. A skate with a hinge in the middle to provide an extra blow when landing on the ice. In 1980, the clap skate was ‘officially’ invented by motion scientist Gerrit Jan van Ingen Schenau. It was not until the mid-1990s that this skate was used by the world’s top skaters. First were the Dutch, who were suddenly a lot stronger than the rest of the world as a result for one or two years.