Ilia Malinin produced a dazzling performance at the US Figure Skating Championships on Thursday as he targets gold at next month’s Winter Olympics.
The 21-year-old known as “Quad God” electrified the Enterprise Center in St. Louis to take a mammoth lead after the men’s short program.
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Malinin’s routine, which included multiple successful quadruple jumps, earned him 115.10 points, leaving him more than 25 points clear of his nearest rival, Tomoki Hiwatashi, with 89.26 points.
Malinin’s majestic performance delighted the crowd, who bombarded the ice with dozens of cuddly toy dragons in tribute after his display.
Malinin recently appeared in an Olympic promotional add alongside Toothless, his favourite character from the movie “How to Train Your Dragon”.
“That was something I definitely was not expecting, that was so funny,” Malinin said afterwards. “That just made me laugh so hard.”
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Four years ago Malinin suffered heartbreak after he narrowly failed to make the US team for the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Since then he has risen to the top of his sport, winning back to back gold medals at the 2024 and 2025 World Championships.
“I just came into this competition to see what happens out there, and I’m impressed with myself,” Malinin said. “I didn’t know I was able to skate that good. I felt good and everything seemed to flow really well.”
Malinin said missing out on the Olympics in 2022 had been the catalyst for his career.
“That was definitely such a hard moment for me to go through but definitely I think it made me the skater I am today,” he said.
“It just gave me that motivation to prove them wrong and show them why they should have sent me there.”
The men’s championship concludes with the free skate on Friday.
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