Ilia Malinin defended his world title with another electrifying performance, landing six quadruple jumps in front of a nearly sold-out TD Garden crowd. Yet as he pounded the ice after his final pose, it was not a gesture of triumph, but of frustration an elite athlete chasing a standard only he seems to demand.
“That was definitely because I didn’t land all seven,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s still the one thing I want to accomplish whether before the Olympics or sometime in my career just to land them all and really maximize my technical ability, while also incorporating the rest of the program.”
Malinin came close. He opened with a clean quad flip, then landed the mythical quad Axel the four-and-a-half-revolution jump no other skater has landed in competition though it was marked a quarter under-rotated. Midway through, however, his quad Lutz unraveled into a double, leaving his long-sought “perfect layout” just out of reach once again.
Still, the victory was emphatic. His total of 318.56 points put him 31 ahead of silver medalist Mikhail Shaidorov and nearly 40 beyond Yuma Kagiyama, who made crucial errors. Malinin’s technical ceiling is so far above the competition that he can win on difficulty alone, with enough margin for error to remain dominant. The real drama lies in his own ambition.
“There wasn’t even a single thought about doing an easier program,” he said. “My main goal was to go for this layout. I really trained at home to make sure everything was effortless, comfortable, and consistent. I just wanted to come here and try it to see what would happen.”
The program he attempted included all six recognized quads in addition to the quad Axel, a configuration beyond the reach of his rivals. He calls it the “perfect layout,” a goal he has chased for months, even as he has remained unbeaten since 2023. At the Grand Prix Final in December, he landed seven quads, though several were under-rotated. He tried again at the U.S. Championships in January, falling on one and popping another. Both times, he won easily. Both times, he left unsatisfied.
“I think until I land all of them, I wouldn’t want to cut back,” he said. “The seven-quad layout is really my ideal layout, and I want to nail this and have it be comfortable, effortless.”
After those setbacks, he returned to his training base in Reston, Virginia, and drilled the layout relentlessly. Scaling back was never an option. Even after Kagiyama faltered and gold seemed assured, Malinin never considered dialing down for competitive reasons. “I didn’t really think about anyone else’s scores,” he said. “I just wanted to skate how I wanted to skate.”
Malinin has always pushed boundaries. Since landing the first quad Axel two years ago, he has treated figure skating’s most daunting elements as a checklist. Six quads. Then seven. All while refining the artistic aspects of his performance. A quintuple jump may not be far off.
But on this night, his biggest satisfaction wasn’t from the quad Axel it was the quad loop, a jump that had challenged him all season. “That whole season was for that loop,” he said with a laugh. “I was ready to throw hands with that loop. Finally landing it gave me more happiness than not having a perfect program.”
His closest competitors speak of him with awe and resignation. “I’m starting to think he’s invincible,” Kagiyama admitted. Even Jason Brown, known for his artistry, remarked, “What I think is most incredible is I feel he has more in him.”
That hunger isn’t just physical. “I’m definitely impressed with how I feel on the ice, and how I feel inside,” Malinin said. “My confidence, the way I approach competitions mentally it’s really changed. Now I’m able to get into that flow state and just be in the game.”
With the Olympic season approaching and Milano Cortina only 10 months away, the spotlight on Malinin will only grow. The U.S., having claimed three of the four world championship gold medals available, enters Milan as clear favorites in the team event.
“I’m definitely looking forward to it,” he said. “It’s a different type of energy. When you skate solo, you’re focused just on yourself. But having that team to support you that’s really special.”
For now, a brief reset awaits, though Malinin is back to work within days, heading to Japan for an exhibition. “The first half of the summer I’ll spend doing shows, and I think that’s really important,” he said. “There’s not the pressure of competition. I can enjoy performing, be more present with the audience, and just have fun out there.”
Then, the next phase begins new programs, new strategies, and the same relentless pursuit of perfection.
