Figure skating's quad era reshapes sport ahead of Milano Cortina Games

MILAN, Jan 26 : Figure skating will arrive at the Milano Cortina Olympics in the grip of a technical revolution led by Ilia Malinin, whose multiple‑quad programmes have reset the bar and reignited debate over whether artistry can keep pace with athletic extremes.

The 21-year-old American "Quad God" in December broke his own free skate world record with 238.24 points, landing seven quad jumps, including his signature quadruple Axel — a jump only he has completed in competition.

His dominance caps a two-decade race that has made quads the price of admission to the podium — and forced a reckoning over the sport's identity.

Canada's Elvis Stojko knows the debate well. The three-times world champion and twice Olympic silver medallist, nicknamed "Mr Quad" in the 1990s for pioneering the element, finds the current era thrilling but says something has been lost.

"There's so much packed in a programme that a skater doesn't get a chance to take a breather and allow the audience to come in," he said. "Back in the day, you'd have moments where a (American figure skater) Michelle Kwan could do a beautiful spiral and have a moment ... that’s kind of been lost."

Three-times world champion Patrick Chan called Malinin "an athletic freak ... the Michael Jordan of figure skating” and framed the trade-off as a slam dunk versus Wayne Gretzky orchestrating a game - instant exhilaration versus nuance.

"It’s the amazement of seeing seven quads in one programme," he said. “That’s the excitement now. It’s just a different era."

Chan expects Malinin to push the technical frontier — perhaps even towards a quint — but says longevity is the true test: delivering championship performances repeatedly over time.

“He’s still early days; this will be his first