Malinin Wins Short Program with Historic Quad Axel - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone (2024)

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Figure Skating 12/7/2023 8:40:00 AM

Ilia Malinin made history on the opening day of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023, becoming the first athlete to land a quadruple Axel in the short program.

Still the only athlete who has ever successfully executed the quad Axel in competition, Malinin's signature jump propelled him into the lead in Beijing, China, as he scored a new international personal best score of 106.90.

The bronze medalist at last year's Grand Prix Final, Malinin earned positive grades of execution on every element in his performance to "Malagueña" by Roni Benise. Although he did not include the quad Axel in any of his programs at his first two Grand Prix events, the two-time Skate America champion not only kicked off the competition with the quad Axel but executed it with a 3.04 grade of execution.

"[The quad Axel] was an idea of mine for a long time, since the start of the season," Malinin said. "I think that at Skate America, without the triple Axel getting those points, it really helped me set the base for my motivation and my confidence to try to include it to see if I could get it under pressure, and I'm glad that I was able to do it under pressure."

He followed up with a quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination that scored nearly 19 points from the judges. Rounding out his nearly flawless short program was a triple Axel – which completed the most difficult set of jumps ever in a short program – and Level 4s on all his spins and his step sequence.

Malinin enters the free skate with a narrow lead, besting reigning World champion Shoma Uno from Japan by less than one point.

"Landing the quad Axel and hearing the audience go crazy, it was a good feeling for me," Malinin said. "I'm hoping for the free program, I'll be able to stay under pressure and stay in that mindset to believe and to succeed no matter what."

Team USA also competed in two junior events on Thursday with Oliva Flores and Luke Wang and Daniel Martynov both claiming fifth following the junior pairs and men's short programs.

In their Junior Grand Prix Final debut, Flores and Wang recorded a new international personal best with 54.37 points in the short program.

Skating to "Once Upon a December" by Christy Altomare, the two-time Junior Grand Prix silver medalists started with a triple twist lift, their highest-scoring element. Their performance was also highlighted by a Level 4 lift.

The duo sits just 1.6 points out of third place going into the free skate on Saturday.

"It was challenging," said Wang of their preparation. "We finished early because we did back-to-back (Junior Grand Prix events), so we had some downtime and we just tried to climb up, but it was challenging. I feel like sometimes we didn't know exactly a direction, but our coaches Drew and Natalia really helped us find that again, and helped us prepare really well."

Martynov also made his Junior Grand Prix Final after winning gold and bronze in the Junior Grand Prix Series this season.

Although he received no credit for his opening element due to performing just a single Axel, Martynov recovered with a triple Lutz. He went on to receive Level 4s for each of his spins and his footwork, tallying a score of 66.23.

"I was excited going into the (Junior) Grand Prix Final," Martynov said. "My preparation was really good. I wasn't any more nervous than I was for the [Junior Grand Prix events]. I just wasn't on my game today ... I want to fight in the free skate."

Competition resumes Friday with the United States competing in three events: the junior and senior rhythm dances and the senior women's short program.

For full results, as well as news, streaming information and more, visit the Grand Prix Final Competition Central.