Nineteen-year-old American Ilia Malinin lands a record six quads to capture world figure skating title in Montreal 2024

I hadn't seen anyone else post this yet and wanted to make sure it got shared. NBC Sports shared Malinin's free skate program and the post-skate commentary with a few slow-motion shots to better grasp how incredibly challenging this feat is. It also looks like an absolutely perfect performance and is worth watching for that alone.

This article goes into further detail about the event. On the subject of Malinin's capabilities:

For the record, this is what Malinin was capable of: quad Axel, quad Lutz, quad loop, quad Salchow, quad lutz-half loop-triple Salchow, quad toe loop-triple toe loop, triple lutz-triple Axel sequence. That plus excellent component marks (averaging 9.07) added up to a free skate score of 227.79, topping the record of 224.92 [American] Nathan Chen had set in 2019.

Malinin’s overall score, 333.76, is second in history only to Chen’s 335.30.

This is a logical extension of the "arms race" begun by practicing and demonstrating the ability to do so many quad jumps. Though I don't think we should overlook the physical ability and training that goes into this.

Vincent Zhou said in 2017, "There was a time when if you did one quad you were very good, five is now the new normal." Nathan Chen was the first to land five quads (in competition, I'm assuming) and has the score to prove it. Malinin has now landed six and executed them incredibly well.

The arms race continues and it seems that Nathan Chen was right when he spoke about quads being here for the points and to make the sport exciting. He also said, "I think that everyone has a point where there has to be a balance between the quads and the artistry but I think that we’re still, as this generation is still finding that balance, it might take a little time." Hopefully we can appreciate the technical and physical skill here while also encouraging sensible skate programs for the future that still have some artistry.