When 17-year-old Ilia Malinin failed to make the Olympic Figure Skating Team last winter, he used it as motivation to improve his technique and skills. On Wednesday, his motivation paid off when he made history and landed the first quadruple axel in Lake Placid to win the lower-level U.S. Classic.
Although the crowd was almost non-existent, the completion of the skill sent shockwaves through the figure skating world making headlines worldwide. Malinin has become an overnight sensation and talks are now pointing to his bright future in the sport.
Adam Rippon, a member of the 2018 Olympic team turned commentator, said, “This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do on the ice.”
The reigning two-time champion Hanyu Yuzuru attempted the 4.5 revolution quadruple axel in Beijing during the Olympics in February, but was unable to land the jump successfully in his free skate program. The axel is the most difficult because the takeoff is front facing forcing the skater to complete that extra half revolution.
Malinin has been sharing some of his practice jumps on his Instagram account, “quadg0d”, and reports from training camp had said he landed it in practice. Seeing is believing for many, though, and on Wednesday, Malinin made believers out of everyone in that arena. So, how does it feel for such a young figure skater to land the historic jump?
“It felt really good. When I’m practicing it, it’s pretty easy for me to figure out how to get the right timing and everything to have it be a good attempt,” said Malinin. “To do it in competition is a different story because you have nerves and pressure that can get in the way of that. So I have to treat it like I’m at home, and it feels pretty good.”
Malinin scored 185.44 points for his free skate and 257.28 points in total to win the competition. The base value of the jump is higher than any other jumps at 12.50 and the judges gave him a 1.00 in execution indicating they thought the jump was clean.
The U.S. Classic is an early early-season event that does not typically garner much attention, but Malinin changed that yesterday. With his senior debut a little more than a month away at Skate America in Boston many are wondering if the quad will become a permanent fixture in Malinin’s free skate. Whether it becomes a routine jump for him or not, it’s clear that Malinin is going to do great things on the ice in the years to come.
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