I’ve always enjoyed watching figure skating on TV. Though not a skater myself, I admire the artistry, technical precision, and personal qualities of the performers. There is drama. There is risk-taking. There is beauty. There is excitement, anticipation, and surprises in discovering the impossible that humans are somehow able to achieve.
In the technical category, one of the moves for many years thought to be impossible was the “Quad Axel” jump, a spin requiring four-and-a-half revolutions in the air before landing. The Quad Axel is the most difficult jump in figure skating, having a base value in the International Judging System (IJS) of 12.50 points, the highest of all jumps.
But reward is accompanied by risk. The IJS, using Grade of Execution (GOE) guidelines, deducts points for a poorly performed jump, so many young men (at present the “4A” is only achievable by men), who may be able to perform it in practice, will not chance it in competition.
Only one young man has ever performed the Quad Axel in competition. He is Ilia Malinin, a 20-year-old hailing from Vienna, Virginia. Malinin, the current world champion, won his third consecutive US title at the US Figure Skating Championships at Wichita, Kansas on Sunday, 26 January, 2025.
The Axel jump is named for the first man who performed it, Norwegian Axel Paulsen, in 1882. His was a single Axel of 1.5 revolutions. The first double Axel was performed by American Dick Button at the 1948 Olympic Winter Games. Button was also first to complete any sort of triple jump (triple Loop) in 1952. The first triple Axel was performed by Canadian Vern Taylor in the 1978 World Championships in Ottawa.
Forty-four years later, on 14 September 2022, Ilia Malinin performed the first Quad Axel jump in history at the US International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid, New York. His latest four-minute “free skate” at Wichita can be viewed at normal speed here.
Malinin’s Quad Axel is the second of the seven quad jumps he attempted. He fell on number four, a Loop jump. If you have trouble, like I do, of counting revolutions, you can view his earlier (Lake Placid) Quad Axel in slow motion here.
If you are watching the running score in the upper left corner of the screen, note that there is a delay of a few seconds from when the previous move was judged/recorded and what is currently being performed.
If seven quad jumps wasn’t enough, note that he finishes with a back flip which few skaters can do. Note also his breathing rate as he lies on the ice at the end.
There are moments in history when you realize you are watching the best that has ever been, a “Usain Bolt” moment. This was one of those.
