Ilia Malinin is U.S. figure skating champion again
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ilia Malinin does things on ice skates that no one else dares to try, so there is an expectation that his every performance will bring something transcendent. It can feel like a letdown when he is just really, really good instead.
During Sunday’s free skate at the U.S. figure skating championships, Malinin again landed a quadruple axel, a jump so outrageously difficult that he is the only person on Earth to complete it in competition. He hit two other quadruple jumps with such ease that it barely looked as if he was trying. The self-proclaimed “quadg0d” won his second straight national title, this time by nearly 30 points in a trampling of the field.
And yet, when he was done, Nationwide Arena felt deflated, as if Malinin hadn’t done enough. He appeared to know it, too. As his performance ended, he didn’t leap in celebration or throw his fists in the air. He had fallen on another quad attempt and didn’t complete one more. He had been great again but not great enough. He glanced at his father, Roman Skorniakov, who is also his coach, as he smiled sheepishly and shrugged.
Later, he said his skates had been bothering him, an issue that nagged him all week and made him think about skipping nationals altogether. He had switched to an older pair, one more comfortable but also worn thin. It left him unsure of what he wanted to try, how far he wanted to go.
Advertisement
“I was happy to get through it,” he said of his performance.
At 19, Malinin is still growing as a skater. It has been less than a year since he graduated from Marshall High in Falls Church, Va., and barely more than two since he burst out of nowhere to finish second at 2022 nationals with a dazzling array of jumps that almost sent him to the Beijing Olympics. But already the anticipation of what he could become has reached outlandish levels. He’s not just the Americans’ best hope for a figure skating medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics; he is their best hope for a gold. And not just a gold but a gold won with so many quads that it will never be forgotten.
But growth is supposed to come in steps, not leaps. Malinin has leaped a lot in his quick rise to the top of the skating world, and it can be hard to notice progress when it doesn’t come with a blinding array of the outrageous. He has gone from being a big jumper with little artistry to one whose dancing comes closer to matching his plentiful quads.
His short program Friday was probably the best of his career, captivating the audience in a way he never had before. He talked that evening about making eye contact with fans as he twirled and shook and waved his arms. He is probably a more complete skater going into the March world championships in Montreal than he has been in the past.
“I’m definitely impressed with my progress over the years, especially with my components and my [artistry] score,” he said. “I’ve definitely noticed a really, really big improvement this whole season. Starting from the beginning of the season until now, I [have] definitely noticed: ‘Wow, I am doing this a lot better. This has become a lot easier.’ ”
Advertisement
It’s remarkable that even with the strange sensation of boots that didn’t fit quite right Malinin could put up a final score of 294.35, so far ahead of runner-up Jason Brown (264.50) and bronze medalist Camden Pulkinen (262.33) that missing two quads didn’t matter. He is that far ahead of everyone else. Last week, Brown said “it’s really cool” to get to compete alongside Malinin.
Sarah Everhardt, the fourth-place finisher in the women’s field who trains with Malinin in Reston, Va., said she and the other skaters there marvel at “all the crazy combos and crazy jumps” he does at practice.
This era of American skating belongs to Malinin, yet it’s amazing to realize that for all his dominance he is still chipping away at something bigger, a perfection unattained. He felt good enough to land the quad axel Sunday but held back on other jumps and still won big.
Advertisement
“I always stick to what I know is good for the time,” he said. “If I were to feel really bad to a point where I can’t deliver at a show [and] if people come to see a quad axel and I can’t do that, I know [they might feel] hurt a little bit, but I always want to prioritize how I’m feeling and my health. [If] I go for it and it ends up really badly, then they won’t see it for another couple years.”
He laughed as he said this, as if he understood the ridiculousness of talking so casually about a jump that terrifies other skaters — just as it was absurd to think that, on a day when he was just good, he was leaps and bounds better than everybody else.
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7uK3SoaCnn6Sku7G70q1lnKedZMCxu9GtqmhqYGeBcHyQaGlxZ6Woeqe1xq6pnmWjoK61tc2gZKadnqh6p77EnmSso5Gpsm61y6KYZqWRobavtc1o