Ilia Marinin, often called the ‘God of the Quad,’ seems to have bounced back from his Olympic disappointment.
Just last month, the 21-year-old skater was considered the top contender for the gold in the men’s free skate. However, two falls during his routine caused him to finish in 8th place—a shocking turn of events.
Yet, Marinin has turned things around and now proudly holds the title of three-time world champion.
After landing a significant jump, he couldn’t contain his relief and exhilaration, signifying that he has moved on from the pressures of the Olympics.
In the free skate, Marinin scored 218.11 points, culminating in a total of 329.40 points, significantly ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama from Japan, who scored 306.67 points.
Shun Sato, another Japanese skater, took third place with 288.54 points.
In an interview with NBC, Marinin did not hold back about his Olympic performance, labeling it simply as “bad” and acknowledging that it was a mental challenge throughout.
As he prepared to skate, he reflected on various memories, admitting that it might have made him feel a bit overwhelmed. “I’ve had my share of ups and downs,” he mentioned. “So, the pressure of being a gold medal hopeful was something I struggled with.”
He elaborated, “The Olympic pressure is a different kind of stress that not everyone fully grasps.”
Marinin expressed that despite feeling confident going into the event, the experience moved so swiftly that he didn’t really have a moment to soak it all in.
Freed from some of that intense pressure, Marinin was able to perform authentically on the ice.
With this win, he made history as the first skater to claim three consecutive men’s world championships since Nathan Chen, who did so in 2018, 2019, and 2021, after the 2020 competition was canceled due to the pandemic.
