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Like the plot of “Succession,” Ilia Malinin’s profitable program for the boys’s singles competitors on the World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday had plenty of twists: six quadruple jumps that included a quadruple axel, a feat involving 4 and a half rotations within the air.
That these parts had been set to the HBO collection’ theme tune solely heightened the drama of Mr. Malinin’s efficiency.
The moody string music that opens the tune had been taking part in for about 30 seconds when Mr. Malinin, a 19-year-old pupil at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., executed a quad axel in a fancy dress that resembled a basic tuxedo. Mr. Malinin, who grew up in Fairfax, is the one skater who has landed that bounce in competitors; he first did so in 2022.
By the time of the “Succession” theme’s piano riffs, he had accomplished three extra quads: a quad lutz, a quad loop and a quad salchow. (His knack for executing quadruple jumps has earned him the nickname Quad God.) Before the tip of the roughly four-minute program, he landed two extra.
Mr. Malinin began skating to the “Succession” theme final fall, however he has but to look at the present. “I don’t have a subscription to HBO,” he stated in an interview. “But if I did get it, I’d undoubtedly watch.”
The community’s programming has influenced his performances earlier than: Last season, he carried out a free skate program set to a number of music from the collection “Euphoria.”
“I didn’t watch ‘Euphoria’ both,” he stated, “however I’ve heard it’s a extremely good collection.”
For his “Euphoria” free skate, Mr. Malinin labored with the choreographer Juris Razgulajevs. His efficiency on Saturday, for which he acquired the very best rating ever for a free skate, was developed by the choreographer Shae-Lynn Bourne.
Ms. Bourne selected the “Succession” theme partially as a result of it had but for use in determine skating, a sport for which music picks are sometimes repeated, Mr. Malinin stated.
“We performed round with find out how to make the sound work for a determine skating program, to make this system circulate higher and make it comfy to carry out the weather cleanly,” he stated. “We added some sound results in and adjusted issues to make the music construct prefer it ought to for a determine skating program.”
Nicholas Britell, who composed the “Succession” theme, stated in an electronic mail that he was honored that Mr. Malinin selected the music for his skate. “It is admittedly thrilling to see the rating transcend past the TV display,” Mr. Britell stated.
Mr. Malinin stated that he virtually didn’t attend the current skating championships due to a “small harm” that saved him off the ice for every week main as much as the occasion. His whole competitors rating of 333.76 — which was greater than 24 factors above that of the second-place finisher, Yuma Kagiyama — was consultant of the progress Mr. Malinin has made since coming into the worldwide senior males’s skating circuit in 2021.
“I by no means thought I’d have the ability to obtain this unbelievable free skate and get this loopy world document,” Mr. Malinin stated, including that studying to land a quad axel bounce has motivated him “to turn into an innovator and sport changer.”
His major coaches, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, are additionally his dad and mom. Both had been Olympic skaters for Uzbekistan and have drawn from that have whereas instructing their son. “They inform me to not be so burdened earlier than a contest and find out how to maximize follow to make it environment friendly,” Mr. Malinin stated. Also advising him is Rafael Arutyunyan, the longtime coach of the American Olympic determine skaters Nathan Chen and Adam Rippon.
Since mastering the quad axel, Mr. Malinin has stated he’s fascinated about trying a quintuple bounce, a maneuver that entails 5 airborne rotations and has by no means been carried out in competitors.
In the approaching months, Mr. Malinin plans to “take the time to mentally put together for the thought of making an attempt” the quint bounce, he stated. “I wish to push the boundaries of bodily skills and the boundaries of this sport.”
