The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title.
The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe.
He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship total of 333.76 points.
Photo: AP
With the crowd at Montreal’s Centre Bell on their feet by the end of his routine, Malinin, who was third after a short program he “wasn’t happy about,” acknowledged the cheers then collapsed to the ice before skating off to await the scores.
‘VOICE IN MY HEAD’
“I’m in shock right now,” said Malinin, who this week said he had recently battled injuries and a dip in confidence.
“The past couple of weeks have been so hard for me to train, and it was even a thought for me that I wouldn’t be able to compete at the World Championships,” he said. “I’m just so glad I was able to achieve it here.”
“There was a little voice in my head: ‘No matter what you have to keep fighting, you have to keep going, no matter how bad or how good you feel you just have to know what you’re capable of and stick to your muscle memory and the training you’ve been through,” he added.
OTHER RESULTS
Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan took silver with a total of 309.65 points.
His free skate featured three quadruple jumps, but he fell after landing a triple Axel.
European champion Adam Siao Him Fa of France claimed a stunning bronze, soaring from 19th after the short program with a free skate that included four quadruple jumps and gave him a total of 294.39 points.
Two-time defending champion Shoma Uno of Japan, who led after the short program, endured a disastrous free skate.
He fell on his opening quadruple jump and botched two other landings.
He was sixth in the free skate to finish fourth on 280.85 points and said that despite his inability to “three-peat” it was an “exhilarating experience overall.”
CHOCK, BATES KEEP TITLE
Meanwhile, US duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates defended their ice dance crown to seal an undefeated season.
The Montreal-based Chock, 31, and Bates, 35, finished with a total of 222.20 points to pip Canada’s Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, who finished second with 219.68.
“We could not be more thrilled,” Chock said. “And to do it in our adopted hometown of Montreal — the support has been incredible.”
The Taoyuan Pauian Pilots on Sunday fell short in their bid for a first East Asia Super League (EASL) title after a 90-81 loss to Japan’s Utsunomiya Brex in Macau. The defeat marked the second straight year the defending P.League+ champions missed out on the EASL crown, but they remain the first team to reach back-to-back championship games in the league’s three-year history. The outcome was largely decided by long-range shooting. The Pilots struggled from beyond the arc, hitting just five of 20 attempts, while the Brex converted 19 three-pointers, shooting 46.3 percent from long range. Seven of the eight Brex players
Taiwanese boxer and Olympic gold medalist Lin Yu-ting has been approved to compete in the Asian Boxing Elite Championships, the Chinese Taipei Boxing Association (CTBA) said yesterday. The championships start on Saturday next week in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Lin became entangled in a gender controversy, despite the International Olympic Committee confirming her eligibility to compete as a female boxer. In August last year, World Boxing mandated a new regulation that required all athletes to undergo a polymerase chain reaction. genetic test to determine their sex at birth and their eligibility. Since the introduction of the test, Lin has missed several
ONE MORE CHANCE: While North Korea denied Taiwan in Australia, Taiwan, who last played in the World Cup in 1991, could still qualify via inter-confederation playoffs Taiwan yesterday lost 4-0 to a dominant North Korea in the AFC Women’s Asian Cup playoffs, closing off an avenue to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Hong Song-ok scored a hat-trick in the match to determine the last of the confederation’s qualifiers from the tournament for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. With their victory over Taiwan, North Korea has qualified for the first time since a doping saga in 2011 led to their long absence from top-tier international tournaments. Angela Beard and Jaclyn Sawicki scored in a six-minute span to help the Philippines secure a World Cup spot with a
Audi, who are just two races into their Formula One journey, have parted company with team principal Jonathan Wheatley “with immediate effect,” the German team said on Friday. The 58-year-old Briton, who spent almost two decades with Red Bull, joined Sauber in April last year. Sauber were subsequently taken over by Audi. “Due to personal reasons, Jonathan Wheatley will depart the team with immediate effect,” Audi said in a statement. “The team thanks Jonathan for his contribution to the project and wishes him the best for his future endeavors. “Mattia Binotto, head of Audi F1 Project, will continue leading the team while taking over
RSS