Ilia Malinin, the 20-year-old American figure skater, scored 321.00 points at the Grand Prix de France, cementing his position as a leading contender for Olympic gold in Milan. Expressing satisfaction with a touch of boredom about his performance, his routine featured gravity-defying jumps and strategic refinements. As he gears up for upcoming events, Malinin adheres to a detailed plan to peak at the Winter Games.
Ilia Malinin had just returned from the Grand Prix de France, the first major event on figure skating's road to the Milan Olympics, where the 20-year-old American known for gravity-defying jumps delivered one of the best performances under the current scoring system, totaling 321.00 points. This marked his second-highest score in international competition, surpassing second-place Adam Siao Him Fa by more than 40 points.
“I'm pretty satisfied with my performance and how I skated,” Malinin told The Associated Press ahead of Skate Canada this weekend. “It was definitely a good time to practice and really get myself ready for the season, and slowly build myself.”
His new short program and free skate, choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne, showed refinement since their debut at the Lombardia Trophy in September. The short featured a quadruple lutz-triple toe loop combination and a backflip for fun, while the free included five triple jumps, with all but one earning positive grade-of-execution marks.
Malinin's free skate score of 215.78 points exceeded the total scores of three out of 12 competitors in France, achieved without his signature quadruple axel—the 4 1/2-revolution jump only he has landed in competition.
His close-knit team, including Bourne, coach Rafael Arutyunyan, and his parents—both former Olympic skaters—has crafted a strategic plan. Malinin is set for Skate Canada this weekend, the Grand Prix Final in early December in Nagoya, Japan, the U.S. championships in St. Louis in January, and then the Milano-Cortina Games.
“We've been planning a strategic plan to best prepare myself mentally and physically,” Malinin said. “So as I get to the Olympics, that's when I'm at my peak performance, and 100% best. We've talked through for months, and managing what I train and how I train specifically. After all the competitions leading up to the Olympics, trying to get feedback and build myself up.”
On Monday, Comcast and its brand Xfinity announced Malinin's inclusion in their Winter Games roster as the only figure skater, alongside athletes like Mikaela Shiffrin, Taylor Heise, and Erin Jackson.
Malinin has not lost a competition in two years, with scores in another league. At last weekend's Cup of China, Japan's Shun Sato won with 278.12 points—about 43 points below Malinin's French score.
“Ilia's just technically amazing with what he does,” Bourne told the AP recently. “If he hears he's lacking something, he's the first to shine a light on anything that needs improvement. He wants to tackle things wherever he needs to grow. He does not just want to coast on the things he's good at. That's such a beautiful thing.”