By Lynn Rutherford
Ilia Malinin won his biggest title yet last weekend in Beijing, making history along the way.
The 19-year-old from Vienna, about eight miles southeast of Falls Church, captured his first Grand Prix Final crown with 314.66 points, a whopping 17.32 points over two-time world champion Shoma Uno of Japan. The score is the third highest ever recorded in international figure skating competition, behind totals Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu, both now retired from competition, notched in 2019.
“I’m feeling just amazing,” Malinin told fans in the arena after his win. “I don’t have words for what just happened. It’s an incredible feeling to me. I’ve never felt like this before …. When I came here, I was really just not in such a great mood to skate, but I (knew) I could trust the hours I put in (training). I’m just really glad I put up (good scores) here.”
At his three prior competitions this season, the “Quadgod” did not attempt his famous quadruple axel, the four-and-a-half revolution jump he began landing last season. He is the only skater to ever land the jump in competition.
“I don’t think I will be doing quad axel at Skate America or the other Grand Prix I am doing (in France), because I want to play it safe and make sure I have a solid base for the program without any mistakes, so that way I can qualify for the Grand Prix Final,” he said in October.
“At the Final, I might add the quad axel in both programs, and the quad loop. That’s my idea on this,” he added.
Malinin was as good as his word. In Beijing, he unleashed the quad axel in his short program, hitting it at the start of the flamenco-themed routine, choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne. A quad lutz, triple toe loop combination and triple axel followed, along with some snappy steps and sharp spins. His 106.90 score put him a slim 0.88 ahead of Uno.
“It didn’t say anywhere in the rules that you weren’t allowed to do the quad Axel as the solo jump, it just says you can do ‘any triple or quad jump,'” Malinin told reporters in Beijing. “That’s when I just decided to go for it and see if it works out.
“I’m just really glad that I was able to pull it off,” he added. “Since it was the first time trying it in the short, it was a lot of pressure for me.”
The program was so technically advanced, it took some skating officials by surprise. ISU broadcasters told viewers that when the quad axel was initially entered into the judging system, it got no value — a mistake that was quickly corrected. But one judge assigned the well-landed jump a -5 grade of execution, the lowest possible, which is only assigned when a skater falls on a jump or executes an illegal element. Evidently, the judge erroneously thought the quad axel was not permitted in the short program.
Malinin was not done making history. In his free skate, choreographed by Bourne to selections from the “Succession” soundtrack, he fell on his opening quad axel, but landed five other quads — including a loop, the first he has done in competition. The feat made him the only skater ever to land all six quadruple jumps (axel, loop, lutz, flip, salchow, and toe loop) in competition.
“I was not really sure (if it was enough to win) because I thought that the fall would really take away a lot of the points,” Malinin said. “I’m pretty surprised with how high the technical score was. It was something that I’ve never thought I would see. And in that case, with that fall, I think that there’s still room for a lot more for the technical score.”
About his history-making quad loop, he said: “That was the one that I was most concerned and worried about. It was the first time I was going for it. A couple of weeks ago, my quad loop wasn’t good at all (in practice). I’m really glad I was able to put it out here under pressure.”
Uno, the two-time and reigning world champion, won silver with 297.34 points, while his countryman, reigning Olympic silver medalist Yua Kagiyama, took bronze with 288.65.
In other events, four-time U.S. ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the reigning world champions, won their first Grand Prix Final crown after placing second four times. Two-time and reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan took the women’s title, while Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won pairs gold.
Next up for Malinin: the 2024 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Columbus, Ohio Jan. 22-28th, where he will be the odds-on favorite to win a second consecutive U.S. title.