Skating 'Quad God' Malinin ready for Olympic favorite tag
Double world figure skating champion Ilia Malinin knows he will have a target on his back at next year's Winter Olympics, but said Wednesday he can handle the pressure.
The American, known as the "Quad God" for his dazzling arsenal of quadruple jumps, won his second straight men's world title last month in Boston at the age of 20.
Malinin said he was "still trying to process" the achievement but he knows he will be the man to beat at the Milano-Cortina Games in less than a year's time.
"Definitely I was made aware of that even last year, being the favorite going into the Olympic year," he said in Tokyo, where he is preparing to compete for the U.S. in the season-ending World Team Trophy this week.
"It might put a lot of pressure on me close to the Olympics, but I want to make sure I get a good strategic plan and really just put myself into that right mental zone to block out all this pressure."
Malinin missed out on a place on the United States team for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics but he has since established himself as the dominant force in men's figure skating.
He won his first world championship gold in Montreal last year and followed it up with a bravura free skate performance in Boston that included six quadruple jumps.
The 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chen is taking an indefinite break from skating and Japanese great Yuzuru Hanyu retired from competition in 2022.
Malinin said he would benefit from his world championship wins.
"Two-time world champion is still a little bit new to me," said Malinin.
"It's a fresh feeling. I feel like now I'm able to use that to help me prepare for the Olympic season."
Malinin is one of several world champions on a star-studded United States team in Tokyo this week.
Alysa Liu, who won the women's title in Boston, and ice dance champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates are also competing for the Americans.
Japan, Georgia, France, Canada and Italy are the other nations competing.
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