Ilia Malinin lands quad Axel to take Skate America title
Teenage sensation Malinin wowed the crowd after world champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier had completed victory in pairs.
Figure Skating
American teenager Ilia Malinin landed the first quadruple Axel in Grand Prix of Figure Skating history on Saturday (23 October) to take victory at Skate America.
The 17-year-old became the first skater to hit the jump in competition at last month's U.S. International Classic, and repeated the trick in Norwood, Massachusetts.
It was his first element of the night and it brought the house down.
Malinin had just one noteworthy stumble in an otherwise superb performance which moved him up from fourth in Friday's short program to first overall.
He scored 194.29 score in the free for a total of 280.29 making him the youngest ever men's champion in Skate America history.
Miura Kao of Japan was second with 273.19 ahead of South Korea's Junhwan Cha on 264.05.
“I felt great,” Malinin laughed after receiving his gold medal. “I’m still in shock and I don’t really know how I pulled that off. I just trusted in my practice and it worked out well. I knew when I stepped out on the ice for my warm-up that I would go for it.
"I made that decision and I didn't wander around and wonder if I should or not," he added. "I stuck with it.”
Home favourites Knierim/Frazier take pairs crown
Earlier on Saturday, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier of the United States converted their short program lead into overall victory in the pairs event.
The reigning world champions scored 126.20 in their free skate for a winning total of 201.39.
“It's our first competition of the season and it was a fight tonight,” insisted Frazier. “We showed a lot of grit and I’m proud of Alexa and I for trusting each other to get through the program.” Knierim, for her part, sees a rosy horizon line for the team at the start of the season. “We’ll continue to grow, build and work hard. Brandon and I love a challenge.”
Canada's Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps captured the hearts of the Boston-area crowd, receiving a roaring standing ovation.
They managed a score of 124.84 in the free skate for a total of 197.89 and second place.
“It wasn’t the easiest pre-program today, but we fought through it and worked through it,” said Deschamps, before Stellato-Dudek added: "Our goal is to improve our levels with every event and I think we did that tonight.”
Third place, and the bronze medal, also went to Canada in the shape of Kelly Ann Laurin and Loucas Ethier.
Their free skate score of 104.35 gave them an overall mark of 156.94 and a podium finish on their Grand Prix debut.
A smiling Laurin said afterwards, "We didn’t expect anything at all so just being here and doing our thing is great."
Ethier added, “We did the best we could do today."
Also on Saturday, Sakamoto Kaori took the women's short program with Madison Chock and Evan Bates taking the ice dance rhythm dance.
READ MORE: Sakamoto, Chock and Bates light up Saturday matinee
The Boston-area event, which marks the start of the major competition calendar as the first of six Grand Prix Series of Figure Skating events in October and November, concludes on Sunday 23 October.
Skate America, a fixture on the scene since the inaugural go-round in 1979, kicks off a traditional Olympic four-year competition cycle that will culminate at Milano Cortina 2026.