The flaxen-haired American teenager delivered a mesmerising performance set to music from the TV show Succession that was immediately hailed as the greatest athletic display in the history of figure skating. Performing last in the field of 24 competitors, Malinin became the second person ever to land six quadruple jumps in a single programme and the first to do it with a quad axel, the heart-stopping four-and-a-half-revolution jump that has proven beyond the reach of the sport’s most ambitious talents.
Propelled by Nicholas Britell’s moody eight-chord motif from Succession, the lithe 19-year-old made the unthinkable look elementary as he coolly launched one point-gobbling quad after another in a monochrome, tuxedo-inspired costume, showing the effortless power, form and fearlessness that have become his calling cards in a mere two seasons at the senior level.
While Saturday’s network broadcast on NBC drew a modest 1.56m US television viewers up against March Madness, it has gone viral in the days since, hoovering up millions of views across social media platforms with glowing write-ups everywhere from the New York Times and Good Morning America to the music blog Stereogum and the celebrity news site Just Jared. “I am so honoured that Ilia skated to selections from my music,” Britell told the Guardian. “It is really exciting to see the score transcend beyond the TV screen.”
The quadruple axel is figure skating’s most difficult element because skaters face forward while entering the jump, requiring them to complete an additional half-revolution. It has been landed only eight times in competition, all of them by Malinin, since he first pulled it off at the US Classic two years ago when he was 17.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 30, 2024 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 30, 2024 من The Guardian.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Wall of online rage should not obscure beauty and ugliness
While the authorities have undermined fans’ trust, the truth is at risk of being buried under a mound of tinfoil hats
Surrey worthy winners as Championship takes eye
Nestled within a season of Test triumphs for England, it was atop-of-the-table county clash that truly stole the show
Strike it rich Footballers must find a moral compass before embarking on a journey of unity
IT he distant strains of The Internationale can be heard on the approach to the Etihad Stadium.
Sri Lanka President pledges 'era of renaissance as leftists come in from the cold
As he was sworn in as Sri Lanka's new president yesterday morning, Anura Kumara Dissanayake heralded a \"new era of renaissance\" for the country.
Man reunited with lost family 73 years after he was abducted as a child
A man who was abducted as a sixyear-old while playing in a California park in 1951 has been found more than seven decades later thanks to the help of an online ancestry test, old photos and newspaper clippings.
Veteran activist Fonda issues rallying call to young voters
Young people's unhappiness with the Biden administration's record on oil and gas drilling and the war in Gaza should not deter them from voting to block Donald Trump from the US presidency, the Hollywood actor and activist Jane Fonda has urged.
Ex-partner of Pelicot co-accused fears she was raped
The former partner of a co-defendant in a mass rape trial that has prompted horror and protests in France has broken down in tears and told the court she may herself have been sexually assaulted.
Meloni to be presented with thinktank's global citizen award by Musk
Giorgia Meloni is to be presented with the Atlantic Council's global citizen award by Elon Musk in New York, as the Italian far-right prime minister resurrects links with allies of Donald Trump before the US presidential election.
French interior minister is sign 'reactionary right' are in power, critics warn
The new French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has promised to \"restore order\" by cracking down on crime and immigration as critics on the left said the new government was leaning too far towards the \"reactionary right\".
Show puts creator of first UK Holocaust memorial in the spotlight
The work of an overlooked GermanJewish artist who created the UK's first memorial to victims of Nazi persecution is to be the focus of an exhibition that shines light on the unreported aspects of his life.