Ilia Malinin sometimes looks almost superhuman on the ice.
At the Winter Olympic Games, however, he showed that even the “Quad God” is not unbeatable. Malinin lost for the first time in more than two years during the men’s individual figure skating event, a shocking moment for a skater who had dominated the sport.
Now he wants to make sure there is no debate about who the best men’s figure skater in the world really is before the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships.
The two time defending world champion openly admitted that the Olympic pressure got to him. After the competition, he even said he “blew it,” calling it the worst performance of his career at the worst possible moment. But Malinin believes redemption is coming, and he plans to prove it when the world championships arrive in just a few weeks.
At the end of March, many of the best skaters on the planet will gather in Prague to decide who will end the season as the top skater in each discipline before a new year of competition begins.
While several athletes who competed at the Olympics are resting at home or taking a lighter schedule before the season’s second biggest event, Malinin is doing the opposite. He has been showing off difficult combinations and jaw dropping moves that continue to amaze fans.
During the Art on Ice performance in Zürich, the “Quad God” reminded everyone why he had been considered nearly untouchable for so long. In one stunning moment, he landed a quadruple axel and flowed straight into a perfectly timed backflip.
Even after finishing eighth at the Olympics in Milan, Malinin is still widely viewed as the favorite to win another world title.
One of the skaters many expected to challenge him, Olympic gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov, has already announced that he will skip the world championships in order to rest after a demanding Olympic season. His victory in Milan earned Kazakhstan its second Winter Games gold medal in history.
Still, Malinin’s toughest opponent in Prague may be the same one he faced at the Olympics. Himself.
When he performs at his highest level, no other skater can match his technical scoring power. After the painful collapse in Milan, the world championships offer Malinin more than just another chance at a trophy. They give him the opportunity to make a powerful statement as he begins a four year journey toward redemption in the French Alps.