Two time World Champion, three time Grand Prix Final Champion, four time US Champion, Olympic team event gold medalist, and the first (and only) person to land a quad Axel in competition, to land all six quads in competition, and to land seven quads in one program—Ilia Malinin, despite his uncharacteristically rough performance at the Olympic men’s free skate, remains an impressive icon of figure skating.
As the first person to land the quad Axel, a feat thought once impossible, which cemented Ilia’s nickname as the “Quad God,” Ilia has already secured his legacy in figure skating as an icon of change. And not only has he landed a quad Axel, but he’s done it consistently, even using it in combination with other jumps. You may not understand just how impressive landing the quad Axel—especially consistently—is, so let me break it down for you.
In figure skating, there are six types of jumps: Toe Loop, Salchow, Loop, Flip, Lutz, and Axel. Within these jumps, there are two categories—edge jumps (Salchow, Loop, Axel) and toe-assisted jumps (Toe Loop, Lutz, and Flip). Edge jumps are generally considered more difficult because the skaters launch themselves directly from their skating blade’s edge, relying on their knee bend and edge pressure for power; these jumps require more precision. On the other hand, toe-assisted jumps are considered easier because the skaters use the toe pick of their free leg to plant into the ice for assistance, using a tapping motion with the free foot to gain height; these jumps generate power easier.
The Axel is an edge jump, making it one of the more difficult ones—but that’s not all. Besides being an edge jump, the Axel is also the only jump where the skater takes off from the forward outside edge of their skate; the only jump where the skater takes off while moving forward; and it’s the only jump where the skater does an extra half-rotation. So while in any other quad jump, the skater performs four rotations, in a quad axel, the skater performs four and a half rotations. Plus, historically, no one else has been able to land the quad Axel in competition, including figure skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu. Hopefully, this explanation puts the difficulty of the quad Axel into perspective—as well as just how impressive Ilia Malinin’s ability to confidently and consistently perform the quad Axel is. Besides his success with the quad Axel, Ilia has also won many competitions (like the World, Grand Prix, and National competitions listed earlier) and broken world records. For instance, Ilia currently holds the highest free skate score in the world at 238.24 points (he also holds the second and third highest free skate scores in the world—in other words, he’s been breaking his own world records). Clearly, although some critics claim that Ilia’s 8th place finish at the Olympics has ruined his legacy, his long list of accomplishments have already secured his spot as a historic figure skater.