Landing a historic seven quads, smashing his own record score, making headlines worldwide: Ilia Malinin proved once more that he is the “Quad God” at the ISU Grand Prix Final. He wants to do things that nobody has done before and he just keeps doing that, leaving the world in awe. 

 There is more to come.

“It was one of the best programs I've ever done in my life,” Malinin said. “I'm just so proud I was able to get that done. When I get back home and for the next few months before the Olympics, I'll be able to work on a few things. I'm really excited and this gave me so much motivation for the future and gives me more confidence that I would be able to do this again.”

Ilia Malinin (USA) reacts to his record score at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Nagoya (JPN)  © ISU

"It gives you that little energey when you see the fans cheering" 

The two-time ISU World Champion makes it look easy – which is his goal – but of course it is not that easy to take off, complete four rotations in the air, land safely on a thin blade and do that not just one or two but seven times. Actually, the quad Axel even has four-and-a-half rotations and the program contains not only quads but also two triple jumps plus spins, footwork, a backflip and an acrobatic twist in the final spin.

Yet Malinin said this was only 85 percent of what he is capable of.

“The legs definitely get tired,” he admitted. “I was holding on on the last few elements of the program. I think at the Olympics it will definitely be a lot easier and it won't just be the jumps. I'll be able to add even more of the program and really make everything flow together and make it like almost one art piece.”

Malinin had tried the seven-quads layout a year ago at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Grenoble, France but it didn’t quite work out, not all jumps were clean. After one more year of training, the U.S. Champion felt a lot more confident. 

“Last year I wasn't so confident in myself when I go for trying new elements or new layouts,” he noted. “But this year I was able to trust that I've been doing all these jumps for a few years now so I'm really comfortable with them.” 

Malinin, who just turned 21 on December 2, felt he was be able to pull this program off this time. The atmosphere in the IG Arena in Nagoya was electric. A packed stadium, sold out, with 10,000 people cheering provided the energy Malinin was feeding off. 

“It gives you that feeling that they're going to support you no matter what,” he pointed out. “It really helps you give that extra little motivation or energy when you see them supporting you and cheering you on and really clapping for you. 

“Of course doing it in practice is one thing, you're in your own zone and you have to make sure everything is the way you want it to be. But being in a competition you have a little more lenience because it's not like the end of a practice, you have to go do a full free skate, you have a little more energy and you're a little fresher through the week so it definitely helps with just giving you that right mindset.”

Ilia Malinin (USA) appreciated the support of the fans at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Nagoya (JPN)  © ISU 

"The quint is pretty close" 

Malinin practices his program with this content every day. “That’s what it takes, you have to do it,” he shared. “I do skate a full free skate every day. Some days I can skip a few quads or go for all of them, it really just depends how I'm feeling.”

He would not be himself if he wasn’t trying even crazier things. Malinin has been practicing quintuple jumps. Just imagine this: doing five rotations in the air. “It's in the works,” he said. “After the Olympics that's when I want to give most of my attention to landing the quint for the public. It's pretty close.”

Where does this incredible athletic ability come from?

“A lot of it is still definitely hard work,” Malinin acknowledged. “I think I'm lucky that I grew up with my parents and they've taught me what they knew when they skated. I also think that there is a part of it that comes with natural ability and kind of talent, from how you're born, but of course no matter what, you won't achieve results if you don't put in the work.”

Malinin is coached by his parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov. They are former competitive skaters and Olympians.

 Ilia Malinin (USA) is coached by his parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov  © ISU

"I know in my heart that I can do a lot more" 

Moving forward, Malinin is looking to improve even more, especially in the component score that evaluates skating skills, transitions, the composition of the program. 

“Definitely the second score was lacking in my opinion,” he said. “That was kind of like a jump competition for me. Of course there still was the program but I know in my heart that I can do a lot more.”

Malinin set a new highest score of 238.24 in the Free Skating and with 332.29 points came close to breaking Olympic Champion Nathan Chen's (USA) record total score of 335.30 points that has been standing since the ISU Grand Prix Final in December 2019. 

It seems only a matter of time since this record will fall. Malinin’s next chance to break it will come at the Olympic Winter Games as the scores of the upcoming U.S. Championships in January do not count for official ISU statistics. 

Ilia Malinin (USA) enjoys living life on the edge  © ISU 

"I've always liked to live life on the edge" 

Going where no one has gone before in the sport and taking risks is something that Malinin feels comfortable with.  

“You have to be strong not only physically, for example, to go for quints or try new things, but mentally it's also different. But for me, I've always liked to take risks and really live life on the edge. It's just something that's part of my personality.

“I like to push myself just as much as I can. I am a perfectionist, I always like to improve every time I can, whether that be technically, creativeness or even artistic or component scores. Everything. I always try to find things that are not so good. I always want to work on them to see where my bar is.”

Right after the ISU Grand Prix Final, the World Champion posted a video clip on his Instagram of him doing a jump sequence with two quad Axels. "Stay tuned for more fun," he wrote.

It looks like Ilia Malinin is far from reaching his bar.