r/IliaQuadg0dMalinin

I swore I’d never watch THE SKATE again. But just now, scrolling on YT, it came up from the Eurovision channel. And I wanted to see if my reaction was better months later than infamous Friday the 13th. It wasn’t. Actually it was worse, especially when he buried his head into RAF’s shoulder. But what did hit also was his exchange with Shaidorov. We’ve talked about this here many times but when you watch the spontaneous grace he showed it makes me admire him and his parents even more. I hope I get to see him on a red carpet on the 16th.

Some of the comments in recent posts here and on the main figure skating subreddit have had me thinking about Ilia's dominance this last season and whether that would continue.

There have been a few skaters mentioned as being possible threats to that dominance and good cases were made for the possibity, assuming the skaters named achieved the things mentioned - more quads with good consistency, improved step sequences and spins...the usual.

Except nobody in those comments seemed to be taking into consideration that Ilia would continue to improve and push himself as well. Adding a quint or two, perfecting his skating skills, working with talented choreographers like Randi Strong to improve his extensions, artistry and musicality even more in order to stay firmly on top.

Maybe they feel Ilia won't be able to improve. That he has seen his peak with this season, and his current skills are as good as they're ever going to get, no matter how hard he works to improve, and that's why others have a chance to catch up to or even surpass him.

Or perhaps I was misunderstanding and people only meant that Ilia won't be able to rest on his laurels and take it easy in order to stay ahead of these other men who are trying so hard to catch up to him.

What do you think? Has Ilia peaked, giving others a chance to at least narrow the gap, or will he continue to improve leaving everyone else still struggling to catch up to him? Or is there someone you think would be able to bridge the gap completely and be a true threat for the top of the podium within the next year or two even if Ilia continues to improve?

This is me starting a random discussion because I am bored with the lack of skating content and I know better than to wish for something interesting to happen because the last time I did that, Lajoi and Lagha announced their split 🥲

I just did a bit of bing watching of Roman and Tatiana's competition programs and I'm just blown away by them. Gorgeous high jumps. Tatiana is so expressive with her hands and upper body. Roman's spread eagle is beautiful. But knowing their back story and the grit and determination they had to have in training each other with no external coach for a period of time while also coping with moving to a new country and to skate as beautifully as they do reflects an incredible bond and determination. Yes, I can see how those elements were important in shaping Ilia, but I just wanted to take a moment to honor Tatiana and Roman for who they are themselves.

https://preview.redd.it/o6yj43mg7cbh1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=633008b28c74e3f5b5e17eb592c15f0e67f1b47c

Lwk why this pic? lol. If I were them I'd do the pic of team USA with their gold medals but what do I know lol

Ich bin neugierig, wie groß die “Malination” wirklich ist. Welche Länder sind hier vertreten und wie bekannt und beachtet ist Eiskunstlaufen (und Ilia) in euerem Land?

Or, what are your favorite aspects of Ilia's skating?

Having seen Ilia skate live at SOI I will say that the tightness, height and rotational speed of his jumps truly is incredible. It's one thing to see it on TV, a whole different experience (and appreciation) seeing it live. His flow and speed in general are also impressive in person. His performance skills really are top-notch, he can perform to the rafters. It's not JUST charisma, though that plays a part, but it's musicality and expressing the character of the music.

Less tangible, I appreciate how he doesn't rest on his laurels but continues to work and improve upon all aspects of his skating. Also, this can't really be measured and quantified, but I am truly impressed by his willingness to be vulnerable and share his emotional/inner journey on ice with the audience.

That's it, that's the question

A few weeks ago there was this wonderful stream where a bunch of fans gave surprising sums of gifted subs, and both Ilia and Jacob started hyperventilating, back flipping and simultaneously losing their minds. It was very fun, and I think left a glow for everyone who was there. But I also noticed that a number of people on the chat seemed a bit sad that they couldn't give subs themselves and certainly not of that size. And, unwashedmoose, iliastoothlessplushy, iliasjointinsurance and the others who gave sizable amounts do not have endless amounts of money. So it struck me that maybe we could accumulate small bits of cash into a gofundme, then take the whole thing and drop it - equal amounts to both Ilia and Jacob - at an opportune moment from "All_of_us." That way, we get to recreate the moment, and everyone feels they took part. Bad idea, good idea? Happy for anyone to raise concerns that I might not have thought of. By the way, Ilia doesn't REALLY read these posts, right?