By Lori Ewing
MILAN, Feb 10 (Reuters) – American Ilia Malinin arrived at the Milano Cortina Olympics carrying the weight of expectation that he would make history by landing the first quadruple Axel on Olympic ice.
But the 21-year-old quad machine, the only skater to have landed the four-and-a-half-revolution jump, considered the most difficult in skating, has so far resisted the temptation.
He is choosing caution over showmanship after grabbing a lead of more than five points over his nearest rival Yuma Kagiyama heading into Friday’s men’s free skate.
Malinin said he would not attempt the ultra‑risky jump unless everything aligned on the day.
“I’m hoping that I’ll feel good enough to do it (on Friday),” he said. “But of course, I always prioritise health and safety, so I really want to put myself in the right mindset where I’ll feel really confident to go into it and not have that as something that I’m going to risk.”
Malinin did not do the quad Axel in either the short or long programmes of the team event, but his technically difficult free skate was still enough to lift the United States to gold.
On Tuesday, he landed two quad jumps plus threw in a back-flip to post 108.16 points, comfortably ahead of Japan’s Kagiyama (103.07), with Adam Siao Him Fa of France third on 102.55.
While bookmakers and fans have made the two-times reigning world champion the clear favourite for gold, Malinin is quick to temper any assumptions.
“Being the favourite is one thing, but actually getting it done and doing it under pressure is another,” he said. “I don’t want to get too ahead of myself and say it’s guaranteed I’m getting that gold medal.
“I still have to put in that work for that long programme, so I’m not going to take that for granted.”
NO REGRETS
Malinin said he had no regrets about skating in the team event.
“I think the short (programme) in the team event (where he finished second behind Kagiyama) wouldn’t have been enough to get comfortable with the ice,” he said. “Since I had the opportunity, it made sense to try both programs on the Olympic ice, just to see how it feels.”
The only hiccup came after skaters complained of damaging their blades on the podium during the medals ceremony. The International Skating Union issued an apology on Monday, saying the surface of the podium will be corrected.
Malinin had his skates resharpened on Tuesday, but it took a couple of practice sessions to adjust to the blades.
“I needed a little more time to get comfortable with the skates,” he said. “So I just decided to take a more relaxed practice and give myself a little more time to get comfortable with the ice, get comfortable with the skates.”
Malinin admitted the enormity of the Olympic stage got the better of him during the team event, and pacing himself for four performances — a short and long programme in both the team and individual events — was challenging.
“I just took things incrementally — nice and easy — upscaling a little more, a little more,” he said.
“I definitely feel like I’ve reached where I want to be for the individual event. Now it’s just taking a refresh, nice and slow and calm.”
He admitted he has not spoken to his mother, former Olympian Tatiana Malinina, since he landed in Milan.
“From what I’ve heard, passed down from my dad, she doesn’t want to give me extra stress,” he said. “She wants me to handle it on my own because she trusts me with that.
“After the free programme I want to have a chat with her and see her reaction. I’m sure she’s going to give me some trouble on that team-event short programme, but that’s a mom — I love her for that.”
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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