The self-proclaimed “Quad God”, i.e. the “god” of quadruple jumps, “flyed”, as he himself felt, through his free program at the end of the spectacular World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal.
Surrounded by the frenetic cheers of an enthralled audience, the 19-year-old American of Uzbek origin set off on a kind of supersonic flight into the highest levels of difficulty in this sport for daring artists and style-defining artists.
Ilia Malinin is still too young to be able to present herself as a sensitive figure illustrator. But the young man from Fairfax, Virginia, has reached the age where sky-strikers can reach incredible destinations on runners.
The new world champion, third in the World Championships after the short program, started his world record free program with the quadruple axel, the ultimate in the canon of six jumps, and then followed up with another five “quadruples”. The American, who was apparently unaffected by gravity, postponed the quadruple flip until another time.
“Let yourself be surprised!”
When asked what could come next, Malinin, who had been suffering from pain in his left foot during the week, replied: “Let yourself be surprised!” Whether he wants to integrate a five-fold rotated jump into his air show and can he survive it?
Nothing seems impossible for this young man, who nevertheless struggled with scruples until the free skate of his life, crowned with the first world championship title for the third-place finisher last year. “When I got on the ice,” he described his unstable state shortly before the start of the figure skating all-around, “I didn’t know what would happen. I could have the freestyle of my life, or it could go completely wrong.”
At the end of the breathtaking final performance of this World Cup late Saturday evening (local time), Malinin, who sank onto the ice and wanted to stay completely with himself for a moment, had achieved all his goals in his departure for new horizons. The closest to him came the third-placed French European champion Adam Him Siao Fam, who was only 19th after his completely failed short program.
He catapulted himself to third place with four quadruple sets and despite a famous backflip that was banned and sanctioned with two minus points. Behind the Japanese Yuma Kagiyama, who, unlike his compatriot and defending champion Shoma Uno, who fell from first place to fourth place after the short free skate, was able to keep up at a high level and still ended up 24 points behind the gladiator Malinin.
Deanna Stellato-Dudek: Don’t stop before your potential is exhausted : Image: AP
His triumph at a lonely height illustrated what at first glance appears to be the endless possibilities inherent in the traditional sport of figure skating. But they are not limited to young high-flyers like Malinin or the Russian quadruple jumpers who are currently not admitted because of the Russian war against Ukraine.
The oldest world champion in history
The fact that the 40-year-old American pair skater Deanna Stellato-Dudek, who competed for Canada together with Maxime Deschamps, became the oldest world champion in the history of this sport in Montreal could possibly inspire the careers of other top athletes.
“I’m proud of it,” emphasized the former runner-up in the women’s competition at the 2000 Junior World Championships, who was plagued by many injuries in her youth and returned to the ice arenas in 2016 after 16 years without top-level sporting activities. “I hope my example encourages other athletes not to quit before they reach their full potential.”
The fact that figure skating in the recent past has been determined by the torque of the quadruple-jumping Russian prodigies in the women’s competition, who came as quickly as they left, has led to the International Ice Skating Union setting the minimum age for participants in European figure skating disciplines. and World Championships and Olympic Games from 15 to 17 years.
Roland Zorn Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2 Published/Updated: Katja Sturm Published/Updated: Recommendations: 2
A wise and mature decision that offers enough space for young quadruple flyers like Ilia Malinin and life-experienced returnees like Deanna Stellato-Dudek, who found her great happiness in sport as a pair skater and a kind of grand old lady at the Generations Festival in Montreal.
