Ilia Malinin makes more quadruple Axel history at Grand Prix Final
Ilia Malinin became the first skater to land a quadruple Axel in a short program and took the lead at the Grand Prix Final, the most prestigious event of the fall season.
Malinin, a 19-year-old American, opened his short program with the quad Axel, the most difficult jump in figure skating and one that only he has ever landed clean in competition.
He totaled 106.90 points, edging two-time world champion Shoma Uno of Japan by 88 hundredths going into Saturday's free skate in Beijing. Malinin is bidding for the biggest title of his career.
He had shelved the quad Axel in his two previous Grand Prix starts this fall while prioritizing artistry. Last season, he attempted it at all eight of his competitions, but strictly in free skates.
GRAND PRIX FINAL: Results | Broadcast Schedule
The Grand Prix Final continues Friday with the pairs' free skate, women's short program and rhythm dance, live on Peacock.
Earlier, Germans Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin led the pairs' short program by 1.34 points over top seeds Denna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada.
In their first season together, Hase and Volodin won both of their fall Grand Prix starts. On Thursday, they outscored the Canadians thanks to cleaner jumps.
Stellato-Dudek, 40, is already the oldest skater to win any Grand Prix Series event. She was the 2000 World junior silver medalist in singles, skating for the U.S., then retired in 2001 due to injuries. She came back in 2016 as a pairs' skater, then switched nationality to Canada in 2021.
The top two pairs from last year are absent. Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara missed the Grand Prix Series due to Kihara's back injury. Americans Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier didn't enter the Grand Prix Series after saying they would probably retire after last season.
