Ilia Malinin Rewrites the History Books with Quad Axel to Take Gold

History was made on the second day of the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic as Ilia Malinin landed the first quad Axel in competition en route to the gold medal in Lake Placid, New York.
 
Camden Pulkinen also stood on the podium in the men's event, earning the bronze, while pairs teams Emily Chan and Spencer Howe and Valentina Plazas and Maximiliano Fernandez brought home silver and bronze, respectively.
 
Malinin, the reigning World junior champion, won the men's event by a wide margin and solidified his standing as the "Quad God" by attempting five quad jumps, including one in combination.
 
In addition to the historic quad Axel, he also landed a quad Salchow, quad toe loop and a quad Lutz in combination with a triple Salchow. Skating to "Euphoria" by Labrinth, his program was packed with difficult elements, including a triple Lutz-triple Axel sequence and several Level Four spins. He scored 257.28 points overall and 185.44 in the free skate.
 
Despite his amazing quad Axel achievement, the 17-year-old feels there is still work to be done.
 
"It was not what I wanted, but still a pretty good start to the new season, especially since it's the first competition," Malinin said. "It was just the start of the season, so I just have to work on it over time and hopefully by the end of the season it'll be a lot easier to skate programs."
 
Camden Pulkinen won the bronze medal, coming in third after Kevin Aymoz of France, with 219.49 points overall. Pulkinen's free skate to "Invierno Porteno" by Astor Piazzolla included a triple toe-triple toe combination, a triple Axel-double Salchow sequence, a Level Four flying combination spin and a Level Four step sequence.
 
After taking eighth in the short program, Jimmy Ma rebounded to clinch third in the long program with 146.88 points. He landed in fifth overall with a total score of 216.76. His powerful program to the Attack on Titan soundtrack included a quad toe loop-double toe loop combination, Level Four spins and a fiery Level Four footwork sequence which earned appreciation from the crowd.
 
Eric Sjoberg placed ninth overall, earning 131.60 points in the long program and 179.09 overall after an elegant free skate.
 
Earlier in the day, Chan and Howe earned silver with a score of 120.10 in the free skate, a personal best, and 181.81 overall.
 
They finished behind the Italian team of Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini (189.22).
 
The 2022 Four Continents silver medalists performed to "Unchained Melody" from the Broadway cast of Ghost, completing a double Salchow-double Axel-double Axel sequence and a triple twist. The second half of the program included a Level Four pairs combination spin and a Level Four hand to hip position overhead lift.
 
"It was our personal best, so for us, it's a step in the right direction," Howe said. "We need to continue to train. The start of the season has been a little rough for us with injuries and more competitions early on in the season. We're happy we could come out here, do our thing and leave the ice feeling somewhat good about the performance."
 
Plazas and Fernandez delivered a great free skate to win bronze, earning personal bests in both the free skate (110.05) and total score (166.25). The team soared in their Marvel-themed long program in which Plazas portrayed Black Widow and Fernandez represented Captain America. The program included two Level Four lifts and a triple twist, and Plazas truly appeared to fly like a superhero throughout the performance.
 
They felt their free skate was an "improvement" and a "learning experience."

"I feel good about it," Plazas said. "We had a rough warm-up, but we were able to pull ourselves together and put some good stuff out there."
 
Maria Mokhova and Ivan Mokhov finished just off the podium in fourth place. They scored 106.64 points in the free skate and 161.29 overall. Their performance to "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Strauss II included a Level Four hand to hip position overhead lift.
 
Megan Wessenberg and Blake Eisenach scored 91.28 points in their free skate, and 138.22 overall, to place sixth.
 
Earlier in the day, two U.S. ice dance teams gave rhythm dance performances that placed them in medal contention while Audrey Shin placed third in the women's short program, putting her in the running for a medal in the women's free skate.
 
The team USA skaters competing in the dance event might have felt a bit of déjà vu – all were just in Lake Placid this summer to compete in the 2022 Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, where they all placed on the podium.
 
Lorraine McNamara and Anton Spiridonov are sitting in second place going into the free dance, trailing Great Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (77.22). They dazzled with an effortless rumba to the George Michael song "Careless Whisper," earning a personal best of 73.17 points. The program included a Level Four curved lift and Level Four synchronized twizzles, with all elements earning positive grades of execution.
 
"We were really happy with our skate. We were working a lot toward being able to put out a really good skate emotionally and physically and keep it consistent throughout the whole program. I think we accomplished that this time," Spiridonov said.
 
Eva Pate and Logan Bye captivated with their energetic performance to selections from the movie Rio. Highlights included Level Four synchronized twizzles and a Level Four rotational lift. They also earned positive GOEs for all elements. Pate and Bye will go into the free dance in third place after scoring 72.66 points.
 
"It felt like a really good, solid skate," Pate said. "My parents are here, so it was nice to have them in the stands. My mom brought flags, so she was holding them up."
 
Skating a high-energy program to samba and rumba rhythms, Katarina Wolfkostin and Jeffrey Chen scored 60.69 points to place sixth.
 
In the women's event, Audrey Shin gave a smooth performance which included a triple toe loop-triple toe loop combination, two Level Four spins and a Level Four step sequence. She scored 61.16 points, which earned her the third-place position going into the free skate.
 
"I'm pretty happy with my skate," Shin said. "There were a few elements where I probably got a negative GOE, but other than that, I'm pretty happy."
 
Sonja Hilmer brought power and spunk to the ice in her short program, set to a Christina Aguilera medley. She generated some encouraging claps from the audience as she powered through the performance, which included Level Four spins and a Level Four step sequence, to score 57.93 points, a new personal best, and place sixth.  
 
Jill Heiner placed ninth with a score of 47.41 points.
 
The event concludes tomorrow with the free dance and the women's free skate. Fans can keep up with the action on the U.S. International Classic Competition Central.