Teenager Ilia Malinin earns first World Championship gold with a history-making display in Canada
BySportsbeat
Updated 24/03/2024 at 12:52 GMT
Teenage figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin earned his first World Championship gold with a history-making display in Montreal. He became just the second skater ever to land six quadruple jumps in the free skate event, including his trademark "quad axel" move. Malinin's performance brought up a score of 227.79 - a new world record - that fires him to the top of the overall rankings.
'His best ever skate' - Malinin produces historic display to win gold in Montreal
Teenage figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin earned his first World Championship gold with a history-making display in Montreal.
Malinin, 19, lived up to his ‘quadgod’ nickname by becoming just the second skater ever to land six quadruple jumps in the free skate, including his historic ‘quad axel’, in a routine set to music from the hit TV show Succession.
It led to a world record score of 227.79 and saw him leap from third to first in the standings with an overall score of 333.76.
“I didn’t even realise what was going on,” Malinin said. “I was just flying through the program.
“The past couple of weeks leading up to it have been tough for me. I had a lot of problems, injuries, boot problems.
“I looked at the jumps that for me are the most consistent and are the easiest for me to replicate no matter how tired or how much pressure I have.
“I’m glad I just kept going and believed in myself, and my family to support me and I was able to come here and deliver that.”
Yuma Kagiyama, 20, earned his third World Championship silver medal with Adam Siao Him Fa taking bronze.
“I will be competing for years to come against (Malinin),” Kagiyama said.
“When I see him at the next competition, if we both perform at our 100% ability, I don’t think that I will be able to win against him.”
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