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He's known as the Quad God. Figure skater Ilya Malinen is heading for the Olympics as a gold medal favorite. He's on the ice with Sunday Mornings Jonathan Vigliotti. Quad God. Where does that come from?
This is more like a funny, interesting story, so I guess it comes from.
So I landed my first quad, which is a quad sal, at around. thirteen to fourteen. And I wanted to change my name on Instagram first, like my Instagram handle. And I was like, oh, I landed a quad first, so Quad God, there it is.
Okay, let's put it in. And then I never really thought about it deeply. Like, oh, it's just just a username. And from there, everyone's like, why'd you name yourself Quad God? You only have one Quad.
I'm like Well, now that I think about it, maybe I should Tried to lend all of them to get the quad god status.
So, in a name, you set a bar for yourself that you then not only met but exceeded? Yeah. Quad God almost speaks solely to the technical aspect of what you do. but not to the artistry. Which is layered in every one of your routines.
Why is that so important to you to have that artistry as well? I think it also comes with backstory of always being known as the jumper, always being known as only the jumper in skating and You know, to some degree, it did annoy me, it did piss me off, like just being known as a jumper, because you know, you don't really have a good chance of winning if you're just jumping, you really have to have. You have to have the whole package. You have to have the artistry, the creativity, the mental strength, the physical strength. You also have to be able to manage everything.
all really just so complex and so deep to another level that You know, the average non-sports fan, I don't think, would understand what goes into this sport. And both your parents. are Olympians. What was that like growing up with them?
So you put on skates. Did they try to push you onto the ice to follow in their skating tracks? I'd say it's the complete opposite. They did not want me to skate at all. They wanted me to do something else and 'cause they know they went through All those years of hard work, dedication, commitment to get to where they were two-time Olympians, and now they coach skating.
So they were like, oh, we didn't want another skater in our family. But here I am, me and my sister skate now.
So it's like.
Okay. Tell me about your mom. Why did you choose her last name for your professional name? I don't know. They chose that because it's easier to pronounce.
Then my dad's last name. Pronounce your father's last name. Scorn Yakov. Ah, it's not too bad. Yeah, but when you see it on paper and you have to try to read it, then they're like.
What is this? I can't, I don't understand. And they must have learned this the hard way as they were growing up in the sport. Maybe. Mm-hmm.
I would assume so. They don't they didn't really talk about their skating. Oh really? It's very interesting, yeah. They didn't really talk about what they did and how they placed or what they skated to or just about their skating.
Like I talked to them about that. They said that now it's kind of like they're all focused on me and it's. more about me. Who is a harder coach on you. Definitely say my mom, she's like bad cop.
She's like, Very like strict and She really wants me to be on top of everything. Explain that. What does that mean? You always have the strict parent and like the chill parent, or like the strict coach and the chill coach.
So it's kind of like she wants me to always like, she's like pushing me, trying to get me to like. Just do like not be lazy and just really work, work, work, while my dad's like, yeah, like. You can chill. Have there been moments when your parents who are in that coach mode are telling you to pull back, to take your time with exploring a routine and a difficult routine. And then you there on the other side saying, no, I'm going for it.
There's been a lot of moments like that. I think, well, at first, it was more like a joke about trying to land the quad axle. It's more like, oh, like, I want to try to land the cordax, so see what happens. Like, it wasn't too serious, and they were like, yeah, ha ha, it's a real funny joke. You know, then they started to notice that like I was starting to be more like Involved in really trying to shoot for that quad accent, like, oh, like, he's not joking.
So, yeah, there's a. Been a few times where there's like, I'm not sure if this is, and I'm like, no, no, no, I'm telling you, this is. I'm gonna give this like 100% and this is just I will get it done, I will achieve it. Can you take me through the technical components of performing a quad axle?
So you need to be able to use your power, use your muscle to gain enough speed to be able to then lift yourself into the air and to get enough torque to be able to create four and a half rotations. And you're all doing this on one leg, eight times your body weight, the force that you land with. How high are you jumping in order to execute this? I don't know, I haven't. I I haven't really thought about it or looked, but I've heard from numbers who has like.
Two and a half feet?
Okay. That's quite some height in order to execute this. I think so. I think for skaters, the perception of height kind of changes once you start skating. It's like, oh, it's not that high, but.
Well, that ice isn't giving you any bounce. That is all in your legs. No, that is all physics. That is all physics. I was getting there.
I was going to try to sound smart. Thank you for taking my one intelligent line. That is all physics. What does it feel like for you? As you are rotating like that?
It's just, well, I can tell you what I see, it's just like a blur in the air, but it feels like. You're just in the air and you're spinning and then you let. because it happens all so fast. Like in less than a second. What does it feel like for you when you land that axle?
When I first landed it, I was really surprised and some of the times that I'd go for it, I would not expect to land it, but I'd be able to land it and I was like, I'm, oh my god, I just did that.
Nowadays it's always it becomes comfortable and you're like, oh, it's More like muscle memory and you're able to kind of consistently land exactly how you want it to. But that also takes a lot of practice because especially with that thin blade, everything has to be so precise, everything has to be like literally perfect. You know, there's no such thing as perfect, but This has to be perfect, everything you do. One small mistake on a certain move that will throw off everything. How do you do this?
Have you ever thought about how you've achieved that? The human body can do amazing things. And I guess I'm one of them. You're living proof. You've talked about quintessence.
before. Is it from a Physics standpoint. possible. I do believe it's possible, and I think that You have to just prepare yourself mentally and physically, so of course you don't get injured, but it's also, you know, when you. I say this for anything.
When you go for something, you have to commit 100% because you can't just go for it and last-minute bailout. and anything in skating, especially like I compare this analogy for something simple like a backflip. When you go for a backflip, you have to go there, you have to commit fully, you have to tuck, because if you jump up and you just let go last moment, you're basically going to end up on the floor, either hitting your head or worse. is a quint. the number five in your future.
I think it will be in the future. in the next year or two. You have Right from out of the gate. Been incredible. I'm thinking back to 2022.
You came in second at the Nationals. I know that there was talk at that point of you going to the Olympics then. It didn't happen. How tough was that for you? To be honest, I think if it wasn't for that decision, I don't think I'd be here in this moment.
I feel like. I would be after 26, I'd be Done skating. Elaborate. And I don't think that I'd be landing a quad axle or trying to really revolutionize the sport or just pushing the limits of. my own capabilities or the sport in general.
So in a way it sounds like 2022 was really a pivotal moment. For you. I think that's the best way to describe it. And it's not just your own words. I mean, when you look at what followed, you had so much success, national champion, two-time world champion.
So all of this comes from proving people wrong and proving to yourself that you can Do things that haven't been done before. I think that's also kind of my personality, is like, I really like to kind of own up and say like, if someone doesn't believe in me, I'm really like. No, watch. I'll do it. I'll prove you wrong.
is so special, especially in the Winter Olympics. There can be different audiences watching. That you can have the audience that is really interested in the athleticism and the power and the strength of the skaters or how fast they're skating. And then there's also the side that's really interested into the choreography, the artistry, the creativity and just the interesting performances that the skaters do. It's extremely difficult.
Not only do you have to perform all these crazy technical elements, not only you have to do this choreography that you're given to by your choreographer, but you also have to make it look really good. You have to perform it in front of thousands of people in an arena or in front of T V screens, in front of cameras, which puts a lot of pressure on nerves. And on top of that, you're all being scored for how well you do it. How do you do all of that given the hurdles you've just listed off? I mean, dealing with the crowds alone and then performing at your finest moment for them.
Asking me this a few years ago, I would say, I don't know, I just wing it. But now it's a lot of deeper process. I think it always comes with experience. I think the more and more you do something, the more comfortable it becomes. You do know how to ignite the crowd.
What kind of role does the crowd play in your performance? And how do you channel your energy into the crowd? I think it it works both ways that The program you do and how you skate really impacts the crowd, but also the crowd really impacts you as well. It seems a little ironic, but The crowd also helps you get through the rest of the program. Like for me, I notice when I'm like, oh, when is this gonna end?
I'm starting to get really tired and sore, and then you just hear the crowd starting to cheer you on and like, You really get that excitement, you're like, oh, they're still cheating me on, like, okay, like, yes, I'm gonna keep going, I'm gonna keep fighting f to the end.
So it's not just nice to hear. It fuels you. Yes, it really fuels you, and I think a lot of skaters will agree on that. The crowd help and inspiration just helps us continue to push ourselves and to keep going through our performances and to reach new heights and new levels. How do you channel your nerves?
Like For me it's They're still there, and I think for a lot of skaters, maybe that they'll still feel nervous a little bit on the inside, but it's always more. Like you get on the ice and once that music starts, you're always in this like autopilot zone or tunnel vision that you just like, okay, now I just need to let my muscle memory take over and just, you know, think of it as it was like a practice. What do you hope that the Olympic experience is for you? I don't know, I've always like heard different Things from Olympic athletes that they say that oh like It's fun to travel or to compete on a really huge stage in front of everyone and a lot of millions of people watching, but I think it's More fun as For the, you know, just getting to meet all the different people, different countries, the different sports for the Olympics.
So I'm really excited to, you know. meet all the other sports and you know hope to get to watch their events and Kind of see similarities and differences in how we train, how we eat, the sports in general, and just kind of get to connect and kind of use that as an advantage to kind of build off of each other and support each other bigger than just our own individual sport. I'm Jane Pauley. Thank you for listening. And for more of our extended interviews, follow and listen to Sunday Morning on the free Odyssey app.
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