San Jose, California – Ilya Malinin Numbers People thought he was just a regular guy a year ago when he made his senior debut at the US Championships with two stunning performances and finished second.
“I felt like nobody knew me until after Nationals,” Malinin said. “It was almost like this random guy showed up and surprised everyone.”
That anonymity was long gone when Malinin took Ice Friday for his short program at the 2023 Nationals. Until then, everyone in the skating world was focused on the 18-year-old, who disarmingly uses “quadg0d” as his social media name, the young man who made skating history earlier this season by landing first four-time Axel, a jump he wants to try again in the freestyle on Sunday,
“It’s a big jump compared to last year,” said Malinin. “There was a huge spotlight on me. Everyone has expectations of me.”
And he surpassed them, leaving the son of two Uzbek Olympic figure skaters with the question: “Has the Ilia-Malinin era come now?”
“I think it’s here and it will be here for a long time,” Malinin said.
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When he won the short program with 110.36 points, Malinin found himself in the same thin statistical air as the 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chenwho had dominated US figure skating since winning his first of six consecutive national titles in 2017.
Malinin’s score was the sixth-highest in national team history (since the 6.0 point system was replaced in 2006), the top four by Chen (surpassed by 115.39) and the others by Vincent Zhunone of which are competing this season.
“Now that I’m a big name out there, I hope to continue like this,” Malinin said.
His quadruple gravity-defying jumps, one a quadruple lutz combined with a triple toeloop and the other a quadruple toeloop, were thrown off as quickly as the triple axel. Then he settled into the program Garou‘s “I Put on Spell on You,” which he skates with a commitment to the presentation that far exceeds his flimsy performances in the past.
Two of the nine judges were so enthusiastic that they gave Malinin a maximum score of 10.0 for the presentation, a tribute to the work he did with the choreographer Shae Lynn Bourne (who also worked with Chen).
Malinin has pulled together to skate flawless after struggling significantly in all four of his previous short program competitions this season, each riddled with flaws.
“We took everyone and thought about what we need to work on and improve on,” he said. “I’m surprised I was able to pull this off.”
jason brown, 28, a bridge between Era Chen and Malinin, was suitably impressed when he came second with an emotionally powerful and brilliantly executed short program. Brown, without quads, received 100.26 points, 10.11 behind Malinin.
“What he’s doing is incredible,” Brown said of Malinin. “I had a really great opportunity to travel and do shows with him over the summer and it was amazing to see him train, to see him work.
“The way he makes those quad jumps effortless… they look more effortless than I feel like my triples are. It was great watching him. Technically it is brilliance. It’s a privilege to watch him skate and I can’t wait to see where he takes the sport and see him shine.”
Brown has found it almost impossible to compete for global medals without a quad, but he will forever remain relevant with both the simple beauty and complexity of his moves. This short program was a perfect example.
Set to a piano piece called “Melancholy” by Alexei Kosenkohe and Rohene Ward choreographed it in 2020, but Brown never used it in a live competition as of Friday.
“It’s all about new beginnings,” Brown said.
Brown’s 12th appearance with the senior national teams was also his first competition in a season that saw his career take a new direction after finishing sixth in his second Olympics last February.
At an age when relentless training both physically and mentally would be impossible for him, Brown has spent almost as much time traveling to perform at shows as he has with his coaching staff at the helm Tracy Wilson in Toronto. He was in Japan in early January and played six shows in three days.
“I in no way look at shows as a break or a time to be like, ‘Oh, I’m going to do these watered down programs,'” he said. “I’ve really pushed myself with Tracy and Rohene, especially to do these very, very difficult, (technically) high-level show programs.
“I’ve been very fortunate to have the opportunity to do so many shows. That just got me further and kept me in shape.”
With a big lead in Sunday’s freestyle ahead of the third-placed skater, Tomoki Hiwatashi (85.43), Brown has put himself in a solid position to secure one of the three U.S. men’s spots at the World Championships in Japan in March and a seventh medal at the National Championships, which he won in 2015.
Even he isn’t sure how that might affect his plans beyond this season. The balance between shows and competitions could be difficult to strike.
“At this point, in what you call the Ilia Malinin era. I can’t keep up (jumping),” Brown said.
“But I can continue to push the sport artistically,” he continued. “I’m here to still make a difference, still make a difference, but I have to do it my way.”
Philip Hersh, who covered figure skating at the last 12 Winter Olympics, is a special contributor to NBCSports.com.
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