American Ilia Malinin, 17, lands 1st-ever quad axel in competition

Ilia Malinin made history late Wednesday when the 17-year-old wunderkind, and the heir apparent to Olympic champion Nathan Chen among American figure skaters, successfully landed the first quad axel in competition.

Malinin pulled off the four-and-a-half revolution jump while winning the lower-level U.S. Classic in Lake Placid, N.Y., before a small crowd in a mostly empty arena. It nonetheless sent shockwaves through the sport as the final and most difficult of the quadruple jumps had finally been conquered.

"It felt really good. When I'm practicing it, it's pretty easy for me to figure out how to get the right timing and everything to have it be a good attempt," said Malinin, whose supreme confidence in his jumping ability is evidenced by use of "quadg0d" on his social media platforms.

"To do it in competition is a different story because you have nerves and pressure that can get in the way of that. So I have to treat it like I'm at home and it feels pretty good."

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE❗️<br><br>Ilia Malinin lands the first quad Axel in history