The key facts
- Ilia Malinin agreed to try a parallel quadruple Axel with Vladislav Dikidzhi
- Malinin admits the element may not succeed on the first attempt
- Both figure skaters will compete at the ISU Grand Prix stage in Tokyo on November 27–29
Malinin accepted Dikidzhi's challenge
American figure skater Ilia Malinin, a three-time world champion and Olympic gold medalist in the team event, agreed to try performing a parallel quadruple Axel together with Russian skater Vladislav Dikidzhi. He supported the idea during his stream.
Malinin's quote
“Vlad plans to perform the quadruple Axel. I sincerely hope for his success, because he is a wonderful athlete. I know about his intention to attempt this extremely difficult jump and I am fully ready for such a challenge. Of course, the element may not work out on the first attempt, but I believe in my abilities. We will definitely make several attempts. The most important thing is to feel well on that day, while the final result is secondary for now,” Malinin said.
Context
Both figure skaters will compete at the Grand Prix stage of the International Skating Union (ISU) in Tokyo, which will take place from November 27 to 29. It was previously reported that Alexandra Trusova and Vladislav Dikidzhi performed a quadruple lutz in sync at the rehearsal of the gala show of the Denis Ten Memorial in Almaty: the skaters entered the jump almost simultaneously and completed four rotations each. At the competition in Almaty, both won gold — Trusova won the women's event with a score of 226.01 points and also performed a quadruple lutz in the free program. In addition, Malinin previously entered the Guinness Book of Records thanks to a unique element.
