Ilia Malinin Fan Thread!

[Sylvia]

ILIA MALININ’S JOURNEY TO A FIGURE SKATING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDAL by Lynn Rutherford (March 25, 2023): https://www.teamusa.org/News/2023/M...To-A-Figure-Skating-World-Championships-Medal
ETA an excerpt:

It may seem as if Malinin burst on to the scene in 2022, when he placed second to Nathan Chen at the U.S. Championships, was named an alternate to the 2022 U.S. Olympic Team and won the world junior title with a record score, outpacing the field by 42 points. But there are no overnight success stories in figure skating.
An 11-year-old Malinin landed two strong double axels in his free skate at the 2016 U.S. Championships to win the juvenile boy’s title, telling this reporter at that competition, “I’ve been working to land both of my axels for a long time, probably six months.”
The next season, the youngster added a few triple jumps to his repertoire and won the intermediate men’s crown.
“As a coach and a mother, I’m double proud of him,” Tatiana Malinin said at the 2017 U.S. Championships. “He only skates in the morning, for two hours. We live in Woodbridge (Virginia) but train at the rink in Reston, about an hour away. We get up at 4:30 in the morning to start practice at 6 a.m. My son is working so hard.”

Post #4 in this thread:

Ilia won the U.S. Juvenile & Intermediate national titles back to back in 2016 & 2017 - here's his 1st place South Atlantic Regional Intermediate SP in October 2016 (a few months before he turned 12) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK7rYBcFaw8

(I believe this old YT account may be his grandfather's. )

Another excerpt from the article:

Malinin’s Russian-born parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, represented Uzbekistan at the Olympic Winter Games and have trained their son in Reston, Virginia, since he was 6. The skating bloodline doesn’t start there, though: Ilia’s grandfather Valery Malinin is also a coach. A former competitor for the Soviet Union, Valery trains skaters in Novosibirsk, a large city in southwestern Siberia, where he put Tatiana on the ice when she was 5 years old.
And like mother, like son.
“At age 9, (Tatiana) did a double axel, which was considered a good result at the time,” Valery said in an interview with Sport24, a Russian news site.
In the same interview, Valery attributed much of his grandson’s success to his daughter, calling her “a very goal-oriented person. … If she wanted it, she would achieve it. If she wanted (Ilia) to become a good athlete, she made every effort.”

 

[Sylvia]

Ilia has an official website now: https://iliamalinin4a.com/

It's run by Phelan Strategic Consulting (https://phelan-consulting.com), a PR and Marketing agency in Toronto - their blog post dated March 16, 2023:

Branding, Partnerships, and Content Management for Ilia Malinin

U.S. Figure Skater<br>History's First And Only Skater To Land A Quad Axel In Competition

phelan-consulting.com

 

[Sylvia]

4T, 4Lz & 3A landed in "All You Ever Wanted" by Rag'n'Bone Man at SOI Osaka - video shared by Ilia's agent, Ari Zakarian:

Ari Zakarian on Instagram

338 Likes, 11 Comments - Ari Zakarian (@arizakarian) on Instagram

www.instagram.com

 

[ice coverage]

Biomechanical analysis from George S. Rossano:

Malinin Executes Extraordinary Quad Axel at Worlds, Judges Say Meh

http://iceskatingintnl.com/Competitions/results_worlds/2023 Worlds/Malinin Worlds 4A.htm (Apr 3)​

(Lest anyone misunderstand the article title: Rossano takes issue with the Meh from the judges.)

 

[Sylvia]

Nick McCarvel's feature on Ilia Malinin (published on April 12 before the start of WTT): https://olympics.com/en/news/ilia-malinin-figure-skating-game-changing-season-artistry-exclusive
Excerpt from the end:

He now seeks balance in that run-up: Improved artistry, more experience and – most importantly – to stay injury-free.

“One of the main goals is to try to stay healthy,” he said. “Of course, you can't really just hold back, you still have to push yourself. But you have to be mindful and careful of how much effort you put in. That way you don't overwork things.”

Ilia set an ISU PB/SB of 105.90 [62.07 TES / 43.83 PCS] in winning the SP (yes, WTT is known for scoring inflation ) - his protocol:
1 4Lz+3T 15.70 4.11 4 5 4 4 3 3 3 2 4 19.81
2 4T 9.50 3.26 3 5 4 3 3 3 4 4 3 12.76
3 CCSp4 3.20 1.10 4 4 3 1 3 4 3 4 3 4.30
4 3A 8.80 X 2.63 4 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 11.43
5 StSq4 3.90 1.28 3 3 4 3 3 4 3 3 4 5.18
6 FSSp4 3.00 0.94 3 4 3 1 2 3 3 4 4 3.94
7 CCoSp4 3.50 1.15 3 3 2 2 3 4 3 5 5 4.65

His mixed zone quotes:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1646502852771102722

He had such a relaxed smile on his face talking to him in the mixed zone, which was great to see:
“It’s an incredible feeling. Being out there in front of the fans and performing for your team was just a different atmosphere.
I felt my team was really supportive.
It was just an amazing time. I almost didn’t know what I was doing in that moment. I feel like I was performing way over the way I am usually doing and I think that paid off.”
About his mom sitting in the Kiss & Cry with him: “It was definitely special. She is one of the main reasons I am skating right now. My dad is usually traving with me a lot but I am happy that she came here to also be able to see what the rest of the world is like.”
About his Stars on Ice experience: “It was a super fun experience. There was such a huge crowd and a show every single day, that of course puts pressure on you and I think helped me to prepare for this competition.
It was a dream come true to meet Yuzu. He was my biggest inspiration for the longest time and I am just so grateful that I was able to meet him in person and talk to him. It gave me a lot more confidence to continue this road and perfect myself.”

 

[Vagabond]

He put a spell on me.

 

[Sylvia]

He makes the 4A look so effortless! Clip from WTT practice: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CrBVXKArZOH/

 

[On My Own]

I hope he does

4A
4Lz
4T+3T
4S
---
4T
3Lz+3A+2T
3F+2Lo

Where the opening 4A can be downgraded to 4F or 4Lo if 4A isn't working out, and the 3F+2Lo can be upgraded to 3F+3Lo for additional base value (same goes for 3Lz+3A+2T to 3Lz+3A+3T or to 3Lz+3A+3A if he's up for it). But it'd be better to nail down a layout and really practice it, while improving PCS and GOE, instead of experimenting too much. If 4A's gotta go, then it's gotta go.

I thought I'd seen him do it before. Maybe in his exhibition?

I too hope Ilia finds a way to use that twist somersault into spin that he did at one of the ice shows this season. It's too fantastic to not be seen in a competitive program.

 

[Sylvia]

Photos of Ilia in action at WTT: Getty Images (includes 3 pics with his mom/coach - enjoyed seeing his laughing one!)

 

[Karen-W]

Ilia's popped up to do an IG Live with Andreas Nordeback right now - Oliver Praetorius just joined them.

ETA - he just said that the 4A is easier than the 4F for him.

ETA2 - Shae-Lynn Bourne is doing the choreo for both of his programs next season.

 

[Sylvia]

Ilia mentioned in his IG Live that Shae-Lynn Bourne will be choreographing his new programs (think it was plural).

His summer show schedule:
U.S. Stars on Ice, May 20-June 4 (8 shows)
Dreams on Ice in Japan, June 30-July 2 (4 shows)
The Ice tour in Japan, July 22-Aug. 4 (12 shows in 4 cities)

 

[Karen-W]

Ilia mentioned in his IG Live that Shae-Lynn Bourne will be choreographing his new programs (think it was plural).

That's what I heard as well. He also was taking music suggestions, but indicated that at least one of them will be "classical" - and that the judges feedback this season on his Labrinth FS was basically that they didn't get it/like it much.

 

[On My Own]

JSYK, Ilia is canceled.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649787338132692993

Yawn.

 

[Karen-W]

JSYK, Ilia is canceled.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649787338132692993

Yawn.

As someone who heard him make that offhand comment during the IG Live, which neither Oliver nor Andreas called him out on, but instead laughingly agreed with, my take on it was that 1) it was in poor taste, 2) a rather cynical and yet immature view of what it takes to get high PCS, 3) something he was definitely going to take some heat for - and he's already posted a vague apology on his IG story for the comment.

There's a lot to unpack in his comment, but I doubt it's going to lose him many fans.

 

[Trillian]

As someone who heard him make that offhand comment during the IG Live, which neither Oliver nor Andreas called him out on, but instead laughingly agreed with, my take on it was that 1) it was in poor taste, 2) a rather cynical and yet immature view of what it takes to get high PCS, 3) something he was definitely going to take some heat for - and he's already posted a vague apology on his IG story for the comment.

I’ve seen the clip circulating. It’s not great. If he’s going to be on IG Live without any adults running interference, he’s going to need someone on his team who’s better at drafting apologies. That one isn’t doing much for him.

There's a lot to unpack in his comment, but I doubt it's going to lose him many fans.

I don’t know, a lot of his fans are pretty young, homophobic sentiments aren’t super trendy among gen Z, and young people can be pretty black-and-white in their thinking. He’s not going to lose all his fans, but it’s more than a blip.

 

[skatfan]

I hope someone helps him with some media training because he’s young and doesn’t really understand the consequences of his remarks. He can, and I trust will, do better.

 

[Karen-W]

I’ve seen the clip circulating. It’s not great. If he’s going to be on IG Live without any adults running interference, he’s going to need someone on his team who’s better at drafting apologies. That one isn’t doing much for him.

Oh, agreed, 100%. The apology is... Definitely something he wrote himself.

I don’t know, a lot of his fans are pretty young, homophobic sentiments aren’t super trendy among gen Z, and young people can be pretty black-and-white in their thinking. He’s not going to lose all his fans, but it’s more than a blip.

Did you see the clip within the context of what he was responding to? A fan asked if he was straight. I really think it was just one of those baaaaad jokes that kids, especially teenage boys of that age, have a tendency to make. Someone with more media savvy would have just avoided the question altogether, but there were fans pestering him during the IG asking about his GF, etc, so I can see how he just sort of flippantly made the comment given the invasiveness of some of the fans' about his personal life.

 

[Karen-W]

Honestly, I think he's gonna lose more Twitter-fans because of this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649798351490019329

 

[DreamSkates]

I hope someone helps him with some media training because he’s young and doesn’t really understand the consequences of his remarks. He can, and I trust will, do better.

This.

 

[Trillian]

Did you see the clip within the context of what he was responding to? A fan asked if he was straight. I really think it was just one of those baaaaad jokes that kids, especially teenage boys of that age, have a tendency to make. Someone with more media savvy would have just avoided the question altogether, but there were fans pestering him during the IG asking about his GF, etc, so I can see how he just sort of flippantly made the comment given the invasiveness of some of the fans' about his personal life.

I did see the context. I agree that it was a bad question that someone more savvy would have ignored. (And mostly makes me wince and think he needs to be less online, period.)

That said, when young guys make “jokes” like that, it’s because they’re surrounded by homophobia in the world and they haven’t done the work yet to recognize it and choose not to participate. I’m sure many of us here realize he’s young enough to learn and grow, as long as he really does want to do better in the future. But some younger fans won’t have that kind of perspective and tend to be more reactive in general.

Honestly, I think he's gonna lose more Twitter-fans because of this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649798351490019329

Well… my guess is that some of those people were not his fans in the first place.

 

[Private Citizen]

I can think of some empty but flamboyant programs full of overwrought emotion that have been pulling high PCS.

He shouldn't have said it out loud, but the "bad joke" is the PCS that judges give people like Kevin Aymoz for extremely simple programs. And it's sacrilege to say on this board, but Jason Brown is about a point too high on most components and 1-2 marks too high on most GOEs.

And FWIW I like his Instagram apology, full of grammatical errors, over something a handler would write. It's sincere and believable.

 

[tony]

I can think of some empty but flamboyant programs full of overwrought emotion that have been pulling high PCS.

He shouldn't have said it out loud, but the "bad joke" is the PCS that judges give people like Kevin Aymoz for extremely simple programs.

And I can think of plenty of empty but flamboyantly 'Russian' (but not limited to them exclusively) programs that were winning medals in the mens discipline for quite a long while, amongst the highest PCS. Contesti received high PCS in 2009 based on a two-footed 'fun' program. Lysacek and Joubert were scoring similar to Chan even though there was no comparison to his overall quality. Samarin and Kovtun were scoring high PCS for doing almost nothing.

This is nothing new, and it's nothing to do with 'gay' programs.

And again, you know this.

Aymoz isn't the fastest skater but he does have quite a bit going on and at least puts some effort into several of the entrances to his jumps. I take more issue with Uno's PCS scores for doing 'beautiful' crossovers throughout the majority of his programs, even if he's stepped it up slightly this previous season. I loved Cha's free skate but I can see the first half was empty, the second half has about 30 seconds of VERY tentative approaches to two 3A's in a row, and is basically saved by the last minute and the Ina Bauer.

Malinin's programs, especially the long, ARE empty.

 

[kwanfan1818]

And Van der Perren won a bronze medal at 2007 Euros on PCS for bombing around the ice. BUT I'M NOT STILL BITTER.

 

[Trillian]

And FWIW I like his Instagram apology, full of grammatical errors, over something a handler would write. It's sincere and believable.

Cool. But the point of these apologies is actually to mitigate the damage, not to please someone who wasn’t offended by the comment in the first place. Based on the comments I’ve seen elsewhere online, this one is not really getting the job done on that front.

 

[misskarne]

I think this also looks especially bad in context of Jason having been one of his biggest supporters over the last couple of months - why, it was just last week that Jason was the only one who stayed in the kiss-and-cry for him at WTT, dancing and jumping and worship-bowing with endless energy despite having just skated himself. Jason's lovely spiel at Nationals about working on his PCS. Jason has done nothing but support Ilia.

 

[Karen-W]

I think this also looks especially bad in context of Jason having been one of his biggest supporters over the last couple of months - why, it was just last week that Jason was the only one who stayed in the kiss-and-cry for him at WTT, dancing and jumping and worship-bowing with endless energy despite having just skated himself. Jason's lovely spiel at Nationals about working on his PCS. Jason has done nothing but support Ilia.

Oh, let's not make this about Jason, shall we? I mean, really, at least have the decency to take offense on behalf of both of the known gay men in the top 5 at Worlds, okay? Ilia has stated, multiple times, that Jason is one of the skaters he admires, same with Yuzu - both of whom have always had great PCS (and deservedly so).

 

[ellenpuff]

I think this also looks especially bad in context of Jason having been one of his biggest supporters over the last couple of months - why, it was just last week that Jason was the only one who stayed in the kiss-and-cry for him at WTT, dancing and jumping and worship-bowing with endless energy despite having just skated himself. Jason's lovely spiel at Nationals about working on his PCS. Jason has done nothing but support Ilia.

Is it too much to ask to afford young Malinin just a touch of grace here? He said something stupid and not politically correct. He apologized. Why is that not the end of the story?

I'm going to take a guess that you are infinitely more offended by Malinin's comment than Jason ever could be. Maybe you should, as the kids say, touch some grass.

And before I'm accused of being a fan of Malinin, I'm definitely not—I find his component scores grossly inflated, the programs and costumes dreadful. If he represented Usbekistan instead of America, I imagine there would be considerably more angst about his scores. But that's neither here nor there.

 

[Rukia]

I'm so glad we have this to rehash 10000 times this off-season what a blessing

 

[On My Own]

As someone who heard him make that offhand comment during the IG Live, which neither Oliver nor Andreas called him out on, but instead laughingly agreed with, my take on it was that 1) it was in poor taste, 2) a rather cynical and yet immature view of what it takes to get high PCS, 3) something he was definitely going to take some heat for - and he's already posted a vague apology on his IG story for the comment.

There's a lot to unpack in his comment, but I doubt it's going to lose him many fans.

I thought it was a dumb joke and didn't care about it, but I am sure many will care. Eh from me.

 

[On My Own]

Honestly, I think he's gonna lose more Twitter-fans because of this...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1649798351490019329

I wouldn't bother with the comments on that, some are chinese fans.