Ilia Malinin, the 17-year-old figure skater from Vienna, Va., who has quickly captivated the sport with an array of seemingly effortless jumps, became the first skater to ever land a quadruple Axel in competition Wednesday night at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid, N.Y.
Malinin, who had previously landed the elusive jump in practice, led with the quad Axel during his free skate routine, hitting it in a far corner of the ice. The sparse crowd in the nearly-empty arena immediately seemed to know what he had done and roared loudly as he completed the jump.
His performance Wednesday helped him get past a disappointing sixth-place finish in short program and win his season-opening event.