“The moment I stepped onto the ice, I had a strange feeling that ‘today’s performance would either be the best or worst of my life.'” Ilia Malinin about going for quad axel and winning Worlds

Posted on 2024-04-04 • No comments yet

 

Translation of Ilia Malinin’s comments about winning 2024 World Championships.

original source: number.bunshun.jp posted 3d April 2024 by Yoshie Noguchi

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Ilia Malinin in an interview with Japanese press talks about winning 2024 World Championships and quad axel. Here’s a translation of his comments posted on Sports Graphic Number Web.

Q: Congratulations on your first victory. How does it feel to have won the gold medal?

Ilia Malinin: It still doesn’t feel real. Of course, I’ve been working incredibly hard, practicing as much as possible, but I am genuinely surprised that I was able to achieve it. If there’s one thing I can say, it’s that the percentage of energy expended pursuing your dreams and the level of belief in oneself influence the outcome. In my case, I can say it was 100%.

Q: Let’s take a moment to look back on your performance. You started in a close third place with a perfect short program.

Ilia Malinin: Actually, the week before the World Championships was really tough. I had an injury, took a break from training, and I was even contemplating whether or not to compete. But after discussing with my parents, regardless of how I felt or my physical condition, I decided to give my best in the competition.

Arriving in Montreal and being in the atmosphere of the competition, and motivated by other athletes, my adrenaline kicked in and I was so excited that I almost forgot about my injury. The fantastic performance of (Yuma) Kagiyama, who skated before me, also motivated me, and during the actual performance, the cheers from the audience excited me, and I was able to give my all. I really think I was helped by the audience this time.

Q: In the Free Skate, you successfully executed “six quadruples,” including a quadruple axel. When did you decide to go for the quadruple Axel?

Ilia Malinin: During the six-minute warm-up, I didn’t feel perfect with the quadruple axel. I spent my time waiting for my turn in uncertainty… The moment I stepped onto the ice, I had a strange feeling that ‘today’s performance would either be the best or worst of my life.’ That’s when I realized that the result would depend on ‘whether I could control my own mind or not.’ During less than a minute of preparation time, I focused on breathing and believing in myself. The moment I took the starting position, I felt strongly that ‘I want to give my all in this last competition of the season.’ I decided to rely on my muscle memory and go for the quadruple axel.

Q: You successfully completed the quadruple axel and proceeded to land other quadruples.

Ilia Malinin: During my performance, I could feel the audience’s cheers getting louder and louder, and I drew energy from that. After the step sequence in the latter half, there was a moment when I suddenly came to myself. I could see the audience, hear the cheers, and I felt like ‘“Ah, now I’m the main character.’ It wasn’t about whether I’d succeeded in a jump or made a mistake, I was moving as my body reacted. When I took the final pose, I realized that ‘I’ve done something tremendous!’ and my feelings exploded. I couldn’t support my body and ended up lying on the ice. My body wouldn’t respond to how I felt, consumed by emotion. I’d never experienced anything like that before.

Q: Looking back at the season as a whole, you abandoned the quadruple axel in the Grand Prix series, and then included it again in your short program at the Grand Prix Final. Can you tell us about the strategy you used throughout the season?

Ilia Malinin: Last year’s World Championships was challenging for me, I attempted six quadruples, but mistakes led me to a third-place finish. At the time it was a great accomplishment, but in order to aim higher, I decided to focus on both delivering a clean performance, and improving my skating skills. For the two Grand Prix events, I was able to perform well by abandoning the high-stress quadruple Axel. I was so happy to advance to the Grand Prix Final, that I decided to challenge the quadruple axel again.

Q: Do you have plans for future seasons to again include a quadruple axel in your short program or to attempt a quintuple?

Ilia Malinin: I haven’t decided on a strategy for next season yet. As it’s a season with rule changes, I want to think about a strategy to maximize technical points by looking at things like how the base points of the quadruple axel will change, what will happen to the GOEs of the jumps, and various other rules.

Regarding the quintuple jump, I think it’s possible eventually. For now, I just need to think about what’s needed to go from a quadruple to a quintuple. Whether it’s rotation speed, height, speed, muscle strength, something needs to evolve. And considering what kind of jump would be possible to evolve in this way. My parents have some really great ideas, so I think they will help in new challenges.”


 

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