Malinin is the first and only skater to successfully land a fully rotated quadruple Axel, widely regarded as the hardest jump in figure skating, in international competition.[1] He accomplished this feat on his first attempt at the 2022 U.S. International Classic, and has since successfully performed the jump numerous times in competition. In September 2022, he was named to Time magazine's Time 100 Next List of emerging leaders from around the world who are shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership.
Personal life and education
Ilia Malinin was born on December 2, 2004, in Fairfax, Virginia.[2] He is the son of Tatiana Malinina, a Russian-born Olympic skater who competed internationally for Uzbekistan and was the 1999 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final champion, 1999 Four Continents champion, and ten-time Uzbek national champion;[3] and Roman Skorniakov, also a Russian-born Olympic skater who competed for Uzbekistan and was a seven-time Uzbek national champion.[4] His younger sister Liza also competes in figure skating.[5] He was given the Russian masculine form of his mother's surname because his parents were concerned that his father's surname would be too difficult to pronounce.[6][7] His maternal grandfather, Valery Malinin, is a former competitor for the Soviet Union and currently works as a skating coach in Novosibirsk, Russia.[8]
Malinin began skating at the age of six in 2010 under the tutelage of his parents in Reston, Virginia. When he was a child, he often preferred playing soccer to training in a cold arena, but his grandfather advised his parents to be patient, saying "he'll [gain] his triple jumps, [and then] you won't be able to drag him away.”[8] He went on to become the 2016 U.S. national juvenile champion, the 2017 U.S. national intermediate champion, and the 2019 U.S. national novice bronze medalist. Internationally, Malinin is the 2018 Asian Open Trophy champion at the advanced novice level and the 2018 Golden Bear of Zagreb silver medalist.[11]
2021–22 season: World Junior champion & two Junior Grand Prix gold
With the resumption of the Junior Grand Prix circuit, Malinin returned to international competition at the first edition of the 2021 JGP in France in Courchevel, winning the gold medal despite errors on both of his attempted quadruple jumps in his free skate. He called it "a struggle since I haven't competed in a year, but I think now that I'm back, things are starting going back to normal."[15] At his second event, the 2021 JGP in Austria in Linz, Malinin entered as one of the favorites for the gold medal and won with new personal bests in all segments.[11] He landed a quadruple Salchow successfully in the free skate, although he made an error attempting a quadruple toe loop. With two gold medals, he qualified for the 2021 Junior Grand Prix Final.[16] However, the event was later cancelled due to travel restrictions to Japan prompted by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant.[17]
Malinin finished the season at the 2022 World Junior Championships, which was delayed from early March to mid-April and relocated from Bulgaria to Estonia.[18] He entered the event as the favorite for the gold medal based on his strong season.[19] In the short program, he set a new junior world record of 88.99.[20] He won the free skate as well, setting junior world records for that segment and for total score, winning the gold medal by a margin of almost 42 points.[21]
Returning to the senior level at the 2021 Cup of Austria in November, he placed thirteenth in the short program, but rallied back with a second-place free skate to win the bronze medal.[11] Competing at the 2022 U.S. Championships with hopes of making the American team to the 2022 Winter Olympics, he placed third in the short program. He finished second in the free skate with four quadruple jumps, winning the silver medal, which he said came as a surprise: "I definitely wasn't expecting to skate this good and especially place second."[22] Malinin's placement meant that, per qualification criteria, the third berth on the Olympic team was to be decided between him and fourth-place Jason Brown. Ultimately, the committee chose Brown, a result that attracted some controversy.[23] Malinin was instead assigned to make his World Championship debut later in the year. Brown praised him, saying: "U.S. figure skating is so lucky to have such a bright future with Ilia."[24]
In advance of the 2022 World Championships, Malinin was sent to the International Challenge Cup to secure the required technical minimum scores. He was successful, winning the gold medal in the process.[11] Competing at the World Championships in Montpellier, France, Malinin finished fourth in the short program with a personal best of 100.16, exceeding his previous best international score by almost 20 points. In the free skate, he made major errors on two quadruple jump attempts and dropped to ninth overall.[11] He spoke afterwards of having put "more pressure on myself, just wanting to skate good so badly, and it kind of didn't work out."[25]
2022–23 season: World bronze & first Grand Prix Final medal
Malinin opened his season at the 2022 U.S. International Classic. He placed sixth in his short program. His free skate, which was set to the Euphoria soundtrack and choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne,[26] consisted of five quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, making him the first skater to ever successfully land the jump in international competition.[27][28] American figure skater Adam Rippon called Malinin's accomplishment "the craziest thing I've ever seen anyone do on the ice.”[29] His free skate also included a difficult triple Lutz-triple Axel jump combination. He fell while attempting a quadruple Lutz, but successfully completed all of his other jumps. He finished first in the free skate, earning a total of 257.28 points and finishing overall in first place.[11]
At the Japan Open as part of Team North America, Malinin placed second in the men's free skate competition, earning a total of 193.42 points, just behind world champion Shoma Uno.[11] He was unable to successfully land his quadruple Axel, although he had accomplished it during practice, but "effortlessly" completed all four of his other quadruple jumps.[30] Returning to the senior Grand Prix at the 2022 Skate America, Malinin fell on his quadruple toe loop, but earned 86.08 points in his short program, which put him in fourth place.[11] During his free skate, he fell on a quadruple Lutz-triple Salchow jump combination, but successfully landed four "solid" quadruple jumps,[31] including a "beautiful" and "nearly perfectly" executed quadruple Axel.[31][32] He also completed a quadruple toe loop, a quadruple Lutz, and a quadruple Salchow in the first half of the program. After an error on the Lutz combination in the second half, the Associated Press reported that "with an almost sheepish smile",[32] he got back up from the ice and completed a triple flip-triple toe loop jump combination and a triple Lutz-triple Axel jump combination, which earned him a standing ovation from the audience.[32] He earned 194.29 points in his free skate, with a total score of 280.37, putting him in first place overall.[11] He was the youngest men's champion in the history of Skate America.[33] At his second event, the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, Malinin placed second in the short program, revealing afterward that he was "a little bit injured".[34] He won the free skate decisively, moving into first place and winning his second gold medal.[11] These results qualified him to the 2022 Grand Prix Final in Turin, Italy.[35] There, Malinin placed fifth in the short program with a score of 80.10.[11] He indicated that he remained bothered by his injury and would not attempt a quadruple Lutz.[36] He rebounded in the free skate, finishing in second place.[11] He ultimately won the bronze medal. Malinin said his "goal [was] to definitely make sure that I'm able to be comfortable with my short program because, as of right now, it's been a bit messy."[37][38]
Malinin entered the 2023 U.S. Championships as the gold medal favorite, and after a season of difficulties in the short program, delivered a clean performance to finish first in the segment. He acknowledged afterward that "this season, all the short programs have been really tough, and I think that we took every single one of them and thought about where we need to work and what to improve" to get to that performance.[39] Malinin had planned to attempt six quadruple jumps in his free skate, but fell on one and doubled two others. He placed second in that segment, but won the gold medal on the strength of his short program score.[40] At the 2023 World Championships, Malinin placed second in the short program, with a score of 100.38 points. He went on to attempt the most technically difficult free skate ever seen at the World Championships with six quadruple jumps, landing three cleanly – including the quadruple Axel, the first ever performed at an ISU championship event[8] – earning 188.06 to place third in the free skate and third overall with a combined score of 288.44.[11]
2023–24 season: World champion & Grand Prix Final gold
Malinin won the gold medal at the 2023 Autumn Classic International, his first international appearance of the season.[11] He was invited to compete as part of Team North America at the Japan Open, and won the men's segment, while the team finished second overall.[41]
Beginning the Grand Prix at the 2023 Skate America, Malinin won the short program by almost seven points. He called the performance "one of the best all my career so far. I was so into the music and the performance that I was not aware of what was going around me."[42] He landed all of his jumps in the free skate as well, setting new personal bests in that segment (206.41) and overall (310.47), his first instances of breaking the 200- and 300-point barriers internationally.[43][44] Malinin went on to win the silver medal at his second Grand Prix event at the 2023 Grand Prix de France and qualified for the Grand Prix Final in Beijing.[45] There, Malinin became the first person to successfully perform a quadruple Axel during a short program.[46] During the free skate, Malinin successfully performed a quadruple loop, thus becoming the first skater to ever perform all six jumps as quadruples in competition. He won the event by a margin of over 17 points.[47][48]
Malinin defended his title at 2024 U.S. Nationals, placing first in both the short and long program. The skater revealed he had been "struggling" with his new boots over the past few weeks in training. "The main problem was just the boots,” he explained after the free skate. “I mean, not even just today, this whole week. It was just my main concern and just going into this competition, I wasn’t really sure how I was going to perform."[49]
At the 2024 World Championships in Montreal, Canada, Malinin's score of 105.97 put him in third place following the short program. In the free program, Malinin successfully performed six quadruple jumps, including two in combination, plus a triple Lutz-triple Axel sequence. He won the free program with a world record score of 227.79, earning the World title with a total score of 333.76. “I’m in shock right now,” said Malinin. “It means so much to me. I am so glad to be here and be here on top right now."[50]
2024–25 season: Second consecutive World champion & Grand Prix Final gold
Malinin opened his season at the 2024 Lombardia Trophy. He performed a clean short program, breaking the 100-point barrier in his very first competition of the season. In the free skate, he broke the 200-point barrier and the 300-point barrier overall, winning the gold medal.[2]
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix series, Malinin won the 2024 Skate America.[2][51] “I always try to remind myself that these things happen, and you have to push through," he said after the free skate. "Being the World Champion puts a lot of extra pressure on me, and I need to learn how to handle that.”[51] One week later, he competed at the 2024 Skate Canada International, winning that event as well and securing a spot at the ISU Grand Prix Final.[52][53] “It was very tough doing these two back-to-back Grand Prix,” he said. “Overall, I am pretty satisfied with my performance and how I was able to manage this today. You know, I’m a little bit bummed out with the loop, because I took the few days after Skate America to really make sure that this wouldn’t happen. But it is what it is. I just had to push it aside and continue the rest of the program.”[53]
In December 2024, Malinin won the Grand Prix Final for a second consecutive time.[54] He scored 105.43 and secured first place in the short program. In his free skate, he attempted seven quadruple jumps. He fell on one of his two quadruple Lutzes. He landed all of his other quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel. His free skate earned 186.69 points, bringing his total score to 292.12 to secure the gold medal.[55] With his free skate, Malinin became the first figure skater to land all six types of quadruple jumps in one program.[56][57][55] Malinin said after the free skate that his main goal was to "clean everything" up and that he would decide if he should lower the quad count. “I will get home and play around with the elements and will figure out what the content for Worlds is going to be,” said Malinin. “I feel pretty good. It was not what I wanted but I am still proud of myself.[55]
In January 2025, Malinin competed in the 2025 U.S. Championships. He scored 114.08 in the short program.[58] In his free skate, he attempted all six types of quadruple jumps,[59] but fell on his attempted quadruple loop. He expressed frustration in not landing this jump, saying, "one of my main goals coming here was to finally land that quad loop this season. I think it’s given me kind of a feedback of what I want to do in terms of leading up to the next competition or future seasons."[60] His free skate earned him 219.23 points, bringing his total score to 333.31 and securing his third consecutive national title.[60][61][62]
Later in March, Malinin won the gold medal at the 2025 World Championships in Boston, marking his second consecutive World title.[65] He ranked first in the short program with a personal best score of 110.41 and first in the free skate with a score of 208.14. He skated cleanly in the short program. In the free skate, he became the first skater to successfully land all six types of jumps – toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz, and Axel – as quadruples in a single program in competition.[66][67] During the gala, Malinin dedicated his performance, To Build a Home by The Cinematic Orchestra, to the victims and first responders of the American Eagle Flight 5342 crash.[68]
Selected to compete for Team United States at the 2025 World Team Trophy, Malinin won all competition segments of the men's singles event, aiding Team United States in securing the gold medal overall.[11][69][70]“I was just lucky to be at this event and having this atmosphere with all my teammates, all my friends cheering me on," he said. "It was still very fun even though it was a bit tricky to get through the whole program."[70]
In addition to being known for his ability to land a wide array of quadruple jumps, Malinin is also able to perform on-ice backflips, which he added to his competitive programs during the 2024–25 season following the decision by the International Skating Union to lift the ban on it.[72][73]
Malinin is also credited for introducing a unique choreographic move where he uses a "butterfly" entrance to propel his body into the air before performing a single sideways twist. He calls this maneuver the "Raspberry Twist," since Malinin means "raspberry" in Russian.[74]
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