Malinin eyes quintuple jump post-Milano Cortina Games

Jan 28 : Ilia Malinin has never been much for limits. In a sport defined by physics, the self-named "Quad God" keeps redrawing what is possible, spinning beyond the virtual edge of imagination — and landing there. 

Now, after becoming the first skater to cram seven quads into a single programme, including that once-mythical quadruple Axel, the American has hinted at an even more audacious leap: the sport's first quintuple jump.

Not soon, he insists. Not with an Olympics on the horizon. Next month's Milano Cortina Games remain sacred ground, a place for precision, not experiments.

But the mere suggestion — said almost casually, as if plotting a run-of-the-mill upgrade instead of a five‑revolution free fall from the heavens — sends a tremor through the figure skating world. 

"The most realistic bar is when my body starts to give up on me, so we'll figure out when that is, but I'm sure at least one or two quints hopefully will be possible," Malinin said at last month's Grand Prix Final, where he crushed his own world record in the free programme thanks to his seven clean quads.

"(The quint) is pretty close," he said, amid chatter he lands them in training. "It's in the works. It's there, but after the Olympics that's when I want to give most of my attention to landing the quint for the public."

Asked which jump he would choose to add a fifth revolution to, he reeled them all off.

"I'll keep you guys on your feet," he said laughing. "I want to push myself as far as I can. I want to find out who I truly am. I'm a perfectionist, so I want to improve everything – technique, creativity, artistry. I want to know if there are any limits in the world."

LANDING A QUAD SEEMED LUDICROUS

A decade ago, the idea of a quint seemed ludicrous to