Ilia Malinin, 18, of Vienna, won his first U.S. figure skating championship in San Jose, California, Sunday.
The 5-foot-7 Malinin, the son of Olympians who trains in Reston, became the first in history to land a quadruple axel, a 4 1/2-revolution jump, in competition earlier this year. That jump landed him the unofficial nickname of “Quad God,” which he uses on Instagram.
While he fell during his signature jump Sunday, Malinin’s score of 287.74 earned him the men’s skating title over two-time Olympian Jason Brown and Andrew Torgashev, The Associated Press reports.
During the free skate competition, Malinin did land three quadruple jumps Sunday, as well as a triple lutz-triple axel-triple toe loop sequence.
“This wasn’t the skate that I wanted,” Malinin said after the competition. “There’s always ups and downs, and you just have to get over it and move on for the next thing.”
Video and feature photo courtesy NBC Sports
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