American figure skater Ilia Malinin was flawless on the opening night of Skate America, scoring 104.06 points for his short program Friday night to take a big lead into the free skate.
FILE - Ilia Malinin performs during the men's free skate at the U.S. figure skating championships in San Jose, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 29, 2023. The 18-year-old American wunderkind used his title at Skate America last fall as a springboard to a groundbreaking year at the senior level, which included becoming the first skater ever to land the quadruple axel in competition. Right at the top of the standings at Skate America.
In the pairs competition, Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany overcame her fall on the side-by-side triple salchow to score 63.59 points and take a slim lead over Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada. Malinin, the self-styled “quadg0d” on social media for his incredible leaping ability, spent most of the offseason working hard on his artistry. But the world bronze medalist showed Friday night that he can still do the jumps with uncanny ease.
The question now is whether Malinin will try the quad axel in Saturday night's free skate. The first to ever land the jump in competition showed it off in practice this week, but Malinin indicated he might keep the quad axel shelved so he can ensure a solid finish — ideally, a victory — that would help him earn enough points to qualify for the Grand Prix Final.
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American sensation Ilia Malinin flawless on opening night of Skate AmericaAmerican figure skater Ilia Malinin was flawless on the opening night of Skate America, scoring 104.06 points for his short program Friday night to take a big lead into the free skate. Kevin Aymoz of France was second with 97.34 points and Shun Sato of Japan third with 91.61 points.
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