‘If the rules and scores stay the same, then our sport will stop growing’ – agent on Malinin’s World Cup performance

skater agent Ilya Malinin Ari Zakarian appreciated the figure skater’s performance at the World Championships and also noted that the judges should change their approach in their evaluations.

Malinin scored 288.44 points in total performance and took third place. The 18-year-old athlete completed six quadruple jumps in a free program. The US representative became the first athlete to properly land an Axel quad at the World Championships. Shoma Uno won the world championship.

– How do you find the level of the World Cup – 2023 without the Russians?

– In ice dancing and singles the guys had a very high level. I’ve been coming to the championships every year since 1997, I’ve only missed one tournament. And I can honestly say: for the men, the performances at the World Cup were among the best in history. Each had different interesting programs with different approaches. It was a real show on ice. I also loved dancing, although of all the disciplines I understood it the least. Couples also had good skates.

– And how do you like the level of performance of Russian figure skaters in national competitions?

– This season, I didn’t follow Russian figure skating so much, since I was all working with Ilya Malinin. But I can say that the level was very high. In addition, I liked the organization of the season in Russia, I salute all the steps that the FFKKR has put in place. The federation has even dressed the guys all season to a very high standard.

– Why do you think Malinin’s performances were rated so poorly?

– First of all, I want to “thank” the smart people, commentators and figure skating experts. They almost catch up with what it means to perform quadruple jumps, especially the quadruple axel. And they say, they say, you have to learn to ride, not to ride like Pinocchio. But I can answer, “Born to crawl can’t fly.” Or in Malinin’s case: “He who was born to fly cannot crawl.”

Humanity is always heading for records and athletes are trying to do things that will change their sport. Ilya performs exceptional jumps, but his quadruple axel is inferior to his triple. This is absolute nonsense! I think the next skater who jumps like that will only appear after 5 years. But if the rules and scores remain the same, then there will be no such people, and our sport will stop developing, as in pair skating, ”quotes Metaratings.ru Zakaryan.

Metaratings.ru