Ilia Malinin Fan Thread!

[Karen-W]

Also, he had a nice 4a-1eu+3f in practice yesterday -

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996069548957860052

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

oppsieeeee wrong thread

 

[Karen-W]

I'm both hyperventilating and left speechless...

Olympics.org article about Ilia -

https://www.olympics.com/en/milano-...ilia-malinin-quad-axels-2025-grand-prix-final

He's going for the 4a-3t in the SP in just over 12 hours! And plans a 7-quad layout for the FS.

And was trying a quint Sal in practices, but backed off after a couple of failed attempts. Though he may go for it at the Olympics.

“I felt really good, so I decided to maybe go for a 'quinsal',” he said of his training attempts. “It didn't work out, but I know in the future that it's almost there. I'm almost close to revealing it to the public.”

 

[Debbie S]

I guess, all things considered, the GPF is a relatively low-stakes comp for Ilia. He also did a 4A in the SP in 2023, then (wisely) went back to the 3A for Nats and Worlds. I hope he'll do the same for the Olys...he likes to go for it, but that's not necessarily a wise approach to the Olys, esp since he doesn't need a 4A in the SP to win the comp overall by 30+ points.

I feel like we're more likely to see the quint attempt at Worlds than at the Olys.

 

[Karen-W]

I think you're probably right, but it's as much about the mental game as it is anything else. If you're his competitor, how much does it linger in the back of your mind that Ilia may very well have a quint in his arsenal by February?

 

[tony]

I think you're probably right, but it's as much about the mental game as it is anything else. If you're his competitor, how much does it linger in the back of your mind that Ilia may very well have a quint in his arsenal by February?

He’s already winning competitions by 50 points over some of his main rivals. It shouldn’t linger at all.

 

[gkelly]

I guess, all things considered, the GPF is a relatively low-stakes comp for Ilia. He also did a 4A in the SP in 2023, then (wisely) went back to the 3A for Nats and Worlds.

You can't do solo 4A in place of the required 2A or 3A in the short program. Ilia knew that and did both 4A and 3A at that GPF.
(The tech panel was initially confused, but they figured it out eventually.)

What he "went back to" in place of the 4A was the 4F.

 

[Debbie S]

You can't do solo 4A in place of the required 2A or 3A in the short program. Ilia knew that and did both 4A and 3A at that GPF.
(The tech panel was initially confused, but they figured it out eventually.)

What he "went back to" in place of the 4A was the 4F.

Ooops, that's right. So here he's replacing the 4Lz with the 4A. But still not a wise strategy for the Olys, IMO. There's not that much of a points difference between the two and missing (or getting a < or <<) in the SP can be deadly, even if he could theoretically make up the deficit, b/c in reality that might not happen.

 

[Sasha'sSpins]

Someone posted on Instagram user Ilia Society's post on X with Ilia's planned SP jump content:

https://x.com/TheIliaSociety/status/1996413767618641932?t=FjIOltNQJ5Tq6fvPlZm8lQ&s=19

4A-3T
3A
4L



I hope that Ilia enjoyed his 21st birthday (hopefully he'll get a big party back home)! I wish Ilia a fabulous birthday month and great success at the GPF!

 

[Sylvia]

2025 CS Lombardia Trophy (ISU SB of 108.87) - Ilia's SP jumps:
4F (11.00 bv) 4.58 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 15.58
3A (8.00 bv) 3.07 4 4 4 5 4 3 3 4 11.07
4Lz+3T (17.27 bv) x 4.22 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 21.49
= 48.14 (36.27 bv)

Today's GPF SP in Nagoya (94.05, 3rd place):
4Aq (12.50 bv) -5.71 -4 -5 -4 -5 -5 -4 -5 -4 -5 6.79
3A (8.00 bv) 1.94 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 4 9.94
4Lzq+3T (17.27 bv) x -1.31 -1 -2 -2 -2 0 -1 -1 -1 0 15.96
= 32.69 (37.77 bv)

Planned SP jumps for GPF:
4A+3T (12.50+4.20 = 16.70 bv)
3A (8.00 bv)
4Lz in 2nd half (11.50 bv x 10 percent = 12.65 bv)
= 37.35 bv

December 1st pre-GPF article that includes quotes from Goebel, Rippon and Wylie:

In Nagoya, All Eyes Are On Malinin - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

Like almost everyone else in the skating world, Timothy Goebel never thought he would witness a quadruple Axel jump.

usfigureskating.org

 

[Sylvia]

Clip of Ilia being interviewed by Liza Tuktamysheva in Nagoya:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996621329530052642

 

[Allskate]

2025 CS Lombardia Trophy (ISU SB of 108.87) - Ilia's SP jumps:
4F (11.00 bv) 4.58 4 5 4 5 4 4 4 4 15.58
3A (8.00 bv) 3.07 4 4 4 5 4 3 3 4 11.07
4Lz+3T (17.27 bv) x 4.22 4 3 4 4 3 4 3 4 21.49
= 48.14 (36.27 bv)

Today's GPF SP in Nagoya (94.05, 3rd place):
4Aq (12.50 bv) -5.71 -4 -5 -4 -5 -5 -4 -5 -4 -5 6.79
3A (8.00 bv) 1.94 3 2 2 2 3 2 2 3 4 9.94
4Lzq+3T (17.27 bv) x -1.31 -1 -2 -2 -2 0 -1 -1 -1 0 15.96
= 32.69 (37.77 bv)

Planned SP jumps for GPF:
4A+3T (12.50+4.20 = 16.70 bv)
3A (8.00 bv)
4Lz in 2nd half (11.50 bv x 10 percent = 12.65 bv)
= 37.35 bv

Ilia knows that including the quad axel doesn't add much to his base value while increasing the risk. His team has been complaining about it ever since he started doing the quad axel in competition. I don't think he added the quad axel to the short program in order to increase his score. I think he added the quad axel combo out of the spread eagle just for the challenge and to show he could do it. I respect that. His short program in general wasn't his best today, but I doubt he regrets going for it.

I hope he still goes with his original plan for the free skate, even if it decreases the chances of him winning. I don't think he really cares much about whether he wins the GPF. He cares about doing that layout. The Olympics will be a whole different thing.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Clip of Ilia being interviewed by Liza Tuktamysheva in Nagoya:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1996621329530052642

Well, it’s nice to see he will continue on, I was not sure if he would.

 

[Kateri]

Ilia knows that including the quad axel doesn't add much to his base value while increasing the risk. His team has been complaining about it ever since he started doing the quad axel in competition. I don't think he added the quad axel to the short program in order to increase his score. I think he added the quad axel combo out of the spread eagle just for the challenge and to show he could do it. I respect that. His short program in general wasn't his best today, but I doubt he regrets going for it.

I hope he still goes with his original plan for the free skate, even if it decreases the chances of him winning. I don't think he really cares much about whether he wins the GPF. He cares about doing that layout. The Olympics will be a whole different thing.

Yes, exactly this, He doesn't care about another GPF title, he cares about the stuff that'll put him in the history books. A cleaan SP with a 4A and 4Z could be a record score that's hard for anyone else to touch (and even if the 4A isn't as valuable as it could be, it's about Doing It).