It’s a historic time in figure skating. A U.S. figure skater has just achieved what once seemed impossible (or at least improbable). 17-year-old Ilia Malinin recently landed the first quad axel in history.
The quad axel, which involves four-and-a-half revolutions mid-air, occurred during the U.S. Classic competition in Lake Placid, New York, which Malinin went on to win. Though in-person attendance was sparse, and few saw it IRL, the daredevil feat was captured on video and has gone viral.
HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE
Ilia Malinin lands the first quad Axel in history at the #USIntlClasic pic.twitter.com/rppq73tQ5v
— U.S. Figure Skating (@USFigureSkating) September 15, 2022
“It felt really good. When I’m practicing it, it’s pretty easy for me to figure out how to get the right timing and everything to have it be a good attempt,” Malinin said in a news release from U.S. Figure Skating. “To do it in competition is a different story because you have nerves and pressure that can get in the way of that. So I have to treat it like I’m at home and it feels pretty good.”
To those who follow the figure skater on social media, perhaps the achievement comes as no surprise. He’s been teasing his jumping abilities with the hashtag “quadg0d” on his profiles. And finally, he lived up to that nickname.
Which figure skater will be the next to attempt this gravity-defying move? We can only guess. Until then, we’ll be over here watching this video on repeat, studying the technique, and wondering if maybe, just maybe, we’ll take a stab at it ourselves once winter comes.
Cover Photo: Joosep Martinson – International Skating Union / Contributor (Getty Images)
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