Ilia Malinin won his first world title with his finest figure skating leaps.
The 19-year-old American completed a quadruple axel, quad Lutz, quad loop, quad Salchow, quad Lutz (with a triple flip), quad toe loop (with a triple toe), and triple Lutz-triple axel to finish his record-breaking four-minute free skate.
His six quads in one skate made him the second person after 2022 Olympic winner Nathan Chen. Chen didn’t land all six cleanly and never tried the axel, the hardest quad.
Ilia Malinin said, “When I got into the starting position, I knew that this could be the best skate of my life, or it could go terribly wrong.” In the free skate, Malinin missed six quads.
He defeated Yuma Kagiyama in two performances, winning 24.11 points and breaking Chen’s free skate world record (227.79).
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Malinin said, “The past few weeks have been such a mental and physical challenge for me to get through,” after placing third in Thursday’s short program. “I even thought about not attending the world championships.”
Ilia Malinin skillfully completed every jump pass. He is the first skater to have seven clean, fully turned quad Axels in two seasons.
I was coasting through the routine, ignoring the ice.
His rapid rise from tenth in his senior world debut in 2022 to third last year is impressive.
Ilia Malinin finished last in the world on his favorite skate.
In an almost faultless free skate, Kagiyama landed three quads before collapsing after a triple axel.
By translator, 20-year-old Kagiyama promised, “I’ll be fighting (Malinin) for years to come.” I’ll lose to him if we both do well in the tournament. I’ll improve my skating and get GOEs on everything to catch him.
Adam Siao Him Fa of France rose from 19th to bronze after the abbreviated program.
He lost two points for four quads and an illegal back flip during his free skate, but they did not affect his result. The final score placed him third in the world when the competition began. His January European Championships backflip was successful.
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After the quick performance, two-time Japanese champion Shoma Uno placed fourth.
He saved two jump landings with his hand after making a mistake on his first quad loop in free skating. Uno had his worst world or Olympic finish in nine years.
Three-time Olympian Jason Brown led without clearing the quad.
In two performances, the 29-year-old senior statesman received the best artistic score and only made one jump error—a botched Axel late in his free skate.
Since 2003, the US has led the male and female global standings, thanks to Isabeau Levito’s Friday silver.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ golds early Saturday gave the US its first two global medals since 1996.
The first Grand Prix Series of the 2019 figure skating season is expected in October.
Ilia Malinin suggests the first competitive quintuple leap. He can free skate with all six quads.
Where is “Quadg0d”?
“I guess we’ll have to find out; I’ll leave it for a surprise,” he told Bell Centre residents. You must look forward to the next season.
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