"By now you've probably heard of Team USA figure skater Ilia Malinin. The Fairfax County athlete is the reigning world champion (for the second year in a row), he's racking up Grand Prix Final titles, and he's currently competing in his first Olympic Games, where he's stunned crowds with his backflips. But one of the skater's greatest accomplishments may be the mythos he's created for himself as the "Quad God." Because, yes, Malinin's nickname is actually self-anointed."
"The strategy seems to have worked. Dubbing yourself a god certainly raises eyebrows, but one could argue the 21-year-old has the resume to back it up. He's since landed seven quads in a single routine, and he's the only skater to nail the quad axel in competition, rotating four and a half times in the air. Superhuman? Absolutely. A deity? You can be the judge of that."
Ilia Malinin is a 21-year-old Team USA figure skater, two-time reigning world champion, Grand Prix Final titleholder, and Olympic competitor known for backflips. He originally used the social handle Lutzboy, then changed it to Quadg0d after landing two quads in 2020, using the username as motivation to land more quads. He has since landed seven quads in a single routine and remains the only skater to land the quad axel in competition, rotating four and a half times. He maintains the Instagram handle ilia_quadg0d_malinin and uses 'Quadgod by Ilia Malinin' on his website. He fell behind Yuma Kagiyama in the short program and made mistakes in the free skate.
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