American figure skating star Ilia Malinin didn’t attempt the hardest quadruple jump of all in the gold medal-winning team event or his individual short program Tuesday night.
The quad axel, a 4 1/2-revolution jump, is so difficult nobody but him has ever landed it in competition.
But will he go for it on Friday?
Malinin has teased fans at the Milan Cortina Olympics by submitting program plans that have the 21-year-old figure skater attempting the quad axel. Heading into the free skate, he has a five-point lead over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa. The margin is so great that it seems almost insurmountable, and there’s some wiggle room for Malinin should he attempt the quad axel and fail.
While the competition unfolded on Friday afternoon, viewers will get another chance to watch in primetime.
And that’s just one part of a packed series of events.
Four athletes will compete in the women’s snowboard cross final, racing on a course with banks, rolling bumps and jumps to see who finishes first.
Then, in the men’s halfpipe, Australia’s Scotty James will go for his chance at Olympic gold?
But can he pull it off?
Here’s a breakdown of the various events and what you can see when:
- 7 p.m. – Snowboarding – Women’s snowboard cross final
- 7:30 p.m. – Figure skating – Men’s free skate
- 8:15 p.m. – Snowboarding – Men’s halfpipe final
- 8:40 p.m. – Snowboarding – Women’s snowboard cross final
- 9:35 p.m. – Skeleton – Men’s final runs
Find the complete Winter Olympics schedule below:
