Ilya Malinin, an American of Russian origin, won bronze at the World Championship. The skater's agent Ari Zakarian, in a conversation with Sport, attacked the refereeing, who underestimated the unique Malinin Axel, and spoke about other injustices of the tournament in Saitama.
«Malinin is embarrassed»
— How you the results of the world championship in men? As far as I can tell, they turned out to be quite controversial.- Firstly, I want to congratulate Ilya on an unrealistic performance. I am very proud of him for what he has shown. This is another galaxy, for me it's a jump into the stratosphere. And I think that fans of figure skating appreciated it. As for the result, I am amazed and «thankful» to the judges who gave the quadruple axel a score of 12.86 points. It would be possible to do a beautiful triple axel and get about the same amount. So I say «thank you» to the arbitrators who appreciated his quad Axel so gracefully. Let me remind you, the first in the history of the world championships. br>
— Let it remain on the conscience of those people who evaluated his performances. For me, he is great, he is a brilliant, outstanding athlete. And I just wish he didn't slow down. The main thing is that he understands that his achievements help figure skating take a huge step forward. jpg» />
— In the context of Ilya at the World Championships, we are talking mainly about quadruple jumps, but at the same time, the same Shoma Uno had only one less of them in the free program. was with a serious mistake.
“Nevertheless, we have repeatedly heard that the ISU wants to see a balance in programs. Considering that Ilya is not yet so good at presentation, it turns out that he still has something to add?
— There is, of course. It's just important for him not to slow down now, because he is, so to speak, embarrassed by such results of the World Cup. It was as if a tub of cold water had been poured over his head.
«The advantage of wheelers over techies is unfair»
— For many, Ilya's situation reminded me of the one in which Alexandra Trusova found herself at the Olympics, when a person tries to invest as much as possible in technology, but in the end the risk does not justify itself.
Yes, perhaps there is a similarity. Quadruple jumps in large numbers take a lot of energy, and this, of course, should be appreciated. When you go for a quadruple jump, as a former skater I know what a concentration of strength and attention it is. Some skaters who go for such elements, after them, simply fall apart and begin to insure. Let's take the same Denis Vasiliev — he did a great free skate at the World Championships, but due to the fact that he went for a quadruple salchow, then some elements that he usually does with his eyes closed turned out to be problematic. Perhaps it was the concentration on the quadruple that brought him down.
— For this reason, I suppose, the same Jason Brown eventually abandoned attempts at the quadruple.< /strong>
— Maybe. And why does he need quads if he skates beautifully and scores good points? judicial system. On the one hand, the ISU wants balanced programs, but at the same time, to some extent, the skaters have an advantage over the techies.
— In my opinion, this is unfair. It seems to me that we are at the point where figure skating needs to decide what it is — a sport, a show, or something in between. This will help the viewer to better understand what is happening, and those who are inside it. Returning to the World Championship, I am very upset — and not because Ilya did not win. I do not want to say that Shoma Uno or Cha Jun Hwan won their medals undeservedly. They are great, they did great. The only thing that worries me is the quad axel. A person goes for an incredibly difficult and dangerous element, but gets … Ask any skater — for them the quadruple axel is akin to a miracle. I can already say that the next person who can perform it is unlikely to appear earlier than in 5-10 years.
— More many consider the quadruple axel an unjustified risk. He's only worth 12.5 points. You yourself said that for a good triple you can get about the same.
And this, in my opinion, is also unfair. I've talked to many great skaters and coaches and they all say that the quad axel should be worth 20 points or more. This is evolution, expanding the boundaries of the capabilities of the human body. When Kurt Browning made the first quadruple toe loop, he had huge scores. He was remembered by mankind as the one who first performed such an element. And if we now crush with our own hands those who help move the sport forward — why is this? Now we seem to be saying that there is no need to take risks, we need to make such a good package of stable elements, to engage in beautiful skating. This is all right, of course, but in this way we do not contribute to development. If everyone in figure skating follows this model, progress will stop.
«Sad Conclusion»
—There is a sense that the ISU does not want to rush to progress. After all, they still don’t have a five-jump grading scale, they are now literally worth zero points. That is, some enthusiast who decides to learn the quintuple will face the fact that he will not be appreciated in the literal sense of the word.
— By the way, literally today we talked with Ilya about the quintuple jump, and he said that he already had the quintuple in his pocket. He can perform it, but given the current system, he will not do it at competitions. There is no point. But in training he will jump it, and if someone wants to come and see how the five jump looks like, he invites everyone to him.
>— Directly calls everyone?
— Yes. We will set a day, a time. Let everyone come. No one will take money for this. Ilya just wants people to see what progress is.
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— What is the quintuple, if not a secret?
Ilya has several of them. I don't want to go into details, but he is capable of doing several types of quintuplets. It's just a shame that today such elements as the quadruple axel and the five — like in a circus to come to see some somersault. So, entertainment … Therefore, for now, five Ilya will be a gift for the audience, nothing more.
— How did Ilya react to the results?
— He is absolutely calm. His quad Axel grades surprised him a bit, but he's fine. Ilya is a real athlete and, in my opinion, the greatest star. He's from a completely different galaxy. And what was so appreciated — well, well, we will know that the quadruple axel is worth 12-13 points. And the future generation now knows that it makes no sense to go for a new element on which you can break. Because the price of this progress is 12 points. It's not worth it, it's better to make a stable set and get good grades.
— Didn't Ilya have the same thoughts? Let's say, to abandon the quadruple axel at the competition in favor of the second mark.
— Perhaps something like this is creeping in. Here, too, he told reporters that he made an axel for the audience. They were waiting for this jump — and he showed it. Ilya understood that many spectators came to look at him and his axel. He should make his own decision on the technical content at further competitions, I don’t want to interfere with this. He can add in components and become the greatest skater. He can, I guarantee it. We just need to think carefully about what's next. Ilya will now have shows, the World Team Trophy, we will think. But today it has become clear to us that the quadruple axel in the eyes of professionals is not so important and not so interesting to them. A sad conclusion, of course.