US figure skater Ilia Malinin lands quad axel to take lead at Grand Prix Finals

Ilia Malinin had no intention of trying to land the quadruple axel, the most difficult jump in figure skating, while the 19-year-old American sensation was trying to qualify for the Grand Prix Finals.

Once he took the ice Thursday for the marquee conclusion to the Grand Prix season, all bets were off.

Not only did Malinin cleanly land the four-and-a-half revolution jump, which had never been done in a short program, the first skater to land it in competition last year kept piling up points. He added a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination along with a clean triple axel to post a score of 106.90 points, the best total of his international career.

“After Grand Prix France, it was an idea of mine for a long time – I mean, since the start of the season,” said Malinin, who earned the bronze medal at the Grand Prix Finals last year. “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.”

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/dec/07/ilia-malinin-quadruple-axel-grand-prix-finals-figure-skating

Holy Shamoley! Go to the site for the Xitter view of the jump. I don't post anything from there on general principlis.