Breaking New Ground: Ilia Malinin, the Rising Star in American Figure Skating
American teenage prodigy, Ilia Malinin, continues to redefine figure skating with his latest feat - executing a breathtaking quadruple-rotation jump, soaring through the air with unmatched grace, before flawlessly landing on the ice
American teenager Ilia Malinin created figure skating history on Thursday by successfully landing a quadruple axel, the most challenging jump in the sport. The 19-year-old achieved this feat during a short program at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China, making him the first person ever to accomplish this.
"I'm really relieved that I executed it successfully," Malinin expressed to reporters following the event, as reported by Reuters. "Trying it for the first time in the short program put a lot of pressure on me."
Known as "quadg0d" on Instagram, Malinin's handle highlights his groundbreaking achievements. Although he had previously landed the jump during a free skate competition, the stakes were higher in the short program due to the smaller margin for error and fewer elements in the routine.
Still the only person to ever complete the quadruple axel in competition, a feat he achieved for the first time at the US International Figure Skating Classic last year, Malinin had removed the impressive jump from his programs this year.
Ilia Malinin leads the Grand Prix Final after the short program.
Tingshu Wang/Reuters
"I told Olympics.com on Tuesday that the base value of the jump is not where it should be, so I choose to go with the less risky triple Axel in competition," he explained. Even some of the most decorated stars in the sport have been unable to land a quadruple axel, as it requires four-and-a-half revolutions in the air, turning from a forward-facing takeoff to a backward-facing landing. For 44 years, the jump had been locked at a triple.
Malinin has completely changed the game by effortlessly nailing the notoriously tricky jump, seemingly defying the laws of gravity. Following his historic performance in the short program, Malinin now holds the top spot at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final with 106.90 points, narrowly edging out Japan's Uno Shoma with 106.02 points.
