Teenager Ilia Malinin secured his first US figure skating championship title on Sunday, despite struggling with his ambitious free skate program. Known as “quadg0d” on Instagram, Malinin made history last year as the first skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition.
He clinched gold in San Jose, California, with a total of 287.74 points, surpassing Jason Brown and Andrew Torgashev, who placed second and third, respectively. Although Malinin did not successfully execute the quad Axel in his free skate and converted two other planned quads to doubles, he still finished 10.43 points ahead of Brown, a two-time Olympian.
Reflecting on his performance, Malinin told NBC, “I was really so confident and I think I sort of over-thought everything and tried to get ahead of myself. But I think it’s alright, you always learn from your experiences and there’s always still the rest of the season to come.”
The 18-year-old finished second to Nathan Chen at last year’s national championships but did not make the Winter Olympics team in Beijing due to his inexperience. Chen, who won gold at Beijing 2022, is currently focusing on his studies at Yale.
Entering this year’s competition at the SAP Center as the favorite, Malinin set a personal best with 110.36 points in the short program. Despite falling on his quad Axel attempt in the free skate, he landed three consecutive quads and scored 177.78 points.
Veteran skater Jason Brown, returning to competition after placing sixth at the Olympics last year, delivered a near-flawless free skate, scoring 177.06 points and earning a standing ovation.
Malinin, Brown, and Torgashev, who top-scored in the free skate with 177.78 points, earned spots for the World Figure Skating Championships, scheduled from March 20-26 in Saitama, Japan.
In the women’s competition, Isabeau Levito, Bradie Tennell, and Amber Glenn secured the top three spots at the national championships and will represent the US at the World Championships.