Ilia Malinin: The American Teenage Ice Skating Phenomenon That Makes History




CNN

American teenager Ilia Malinin landed the second quadruple axel in the competition on Saturday without a wobble.

At Skate America, the 17-year-old’s historic free skate secured him the gold medal in his Grand Prix debut as a senior, becoming the youngest men’s champion in the event’s history.

Malinin became the first person to complete a quadruple axel in a competition last month during the US International Figure Skating Classic, a lower-level event.

Still, he wasn’t sure about incorporating figure skating’s most difficult move into his free skate routine at Skate America.

“This morning I wasn’t sure if I was going to try it or not,” Malinin told NBC afterwards. “But I think it crossed my mind that everyone is watching, I have to try and I tried and I landed it. I am still shocked.

“The whole building was screaming for at least a few seconds after that, I didn’t even know if the music was still playing.”

Even some of the sport’s most decorated stars have not been able to land a quadruple axis, as it requires four and a half turns in the air to transition from a forward-facing takeoff to a reverse-facing landing. For 44 years the ski jump had been closed three times.

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu said ahead of the Beijing 2022 Olympics that landing a quadruple axel was his biggest motivation, but when he attempted it at the games, he easily underspun and fell.

Meanwhile, reigning Olympic champion Nathan Chen has successfully landed every other type of quadruple jump besides the axel.

When Malinin – the World Junior Champion – landed a vault that had eluded so many before him, it marked a remarkable moment in figure skating history.

“I was in shock, I didn’t know I just did that!” he added. “I’m impressed with myself that I made it. Even now I’m at a loss for words. I don’t know what to say about that. I didn’t know I could do that.”