American Ilia Malinin is barely 21, but he has redefined the boundaries of men's figure skating, and when he steps onto the ice at the Milano Cortina Olympics, he will not be measuring himself against the field - because he is in a class of his own.
Malinin's competition is internal, a relentless pursuit of what is possible rather than what has already been done.
Malinin is the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in a single program and the first to execute the difficult quad Axel in competition - a feat once considered virtually impossible, Reuters reported.
The Virginia native won the recent Grand Prix Final by nearly 30 points -- think of the clear daylight between Usain Bolt at his best and the rest of the field. Malinin admitted it can be "tricky" to find ways to push himself.
"I really love to give myself a challenge, that battle between myself when I go to competitions instead of really focusing on my competitors," Malinin told reporters on a recent video call. "(That way) it is easier to find ways to progress more and really push yourself to different heights, different limits."
Johnny Weir, a commentator and former skater, recently said on Instagram that compared to other skaters who are rigid or precise, Malinin "skates so naturally, like he was literally grown out of the ice, like a flower petal flowing downstream."
Malinin also has unofficial elements in his programmes, his signature "Raspberry Twist" and a back-flip -- both added largely for spectacle, since neither are assigned points values as technical elements.
"It's a special person who can break the mold of figure skating and really become a legend," Weir told the Washingtonian. "Not just because they win but because they change the whole sport."
Three-time world champion Patrick Chan said Malinin's fearlessness sets him apart.
"He's willing to throw himself into trying, he's not scared of the unknown," the Canadian told Reuters. "When I was learning quads for the first time, it was the fear of the unknown. Am I going to really hurt myself? But he is just so malleable, he reminds me of little kids, he falls and pops right back up."
'IT'S JUST RIDICULOUS'
Chan performed with Malinin on the "Stars on Ice" exhibition tour.
"I remember standing taking notes for the show for 10, 15 minutes in a cold rink, and Ilia just takes two pushes and does a triple Axel. It's just ridiculous.
"I was like, 'get out of my face' kind of thing, 'you're just so ludicrously talented, I don't even want to talk to you'," the 35-year-old said laughing.
Malinin is known as "Quad God," audaciously giving himself the social media handle "ilia_quadg0d_malinin" back in 2020 after sticking his first two quad jumps in competition.
It ruffled some feathers.
"Everyone kind of got angry at me, like, 'Why'd you name yourself Quadg0d? You only landed two quads'," he told the Washingtonian. "And I was like, 'Well, I guess now it's time for me to land the rest of them.' The username was my motivation."
Malinin is primarily coached by his Russian-born parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, who both competed for Uzbekistan at the Olympics.
He keeps himself warm waiting to compete by juggling a soccer ball. At home, he swaps blades for bricks, building Lego cars while his cats observe from their plush perch. When he dialled into a recent video call, the backdrop included a fleet of Lego cars and a towering cat tree.
Malinin's curiosity has made him the sport's ultimate innovator. Every program is a laboratory, every jump a question: What else can I do? The answer is never about beating opponents, it is about rewriting limits.
And Weir predicts a "massive" performance in Milan in February.
"It will be a Simone Biles kind of storybook, in the way he has revolutionized our sport."
