Ilia Malinin Fails to Complete Quadruple Axel at National Figure Skating Championships — but Still Wins Title

Ezra Shaw/Getty Images Ilia Malinin won the men's Figure Skating Championship on Sunday

Ilia Malinin, the 18-year-old who took on the Instagram name of "quadg0d," secured his first-ever U.S. figure skating championship title over the weekend.

On Sunday, the Virginia-born teenager took home gold despite failing to land the quadruple Axel in the free skate — a jump he has landed in the past in competition.

Malinin became the first skater to ever to land a quadruple Axel in competition last year and even did so in practice on Sunday — when he landed two other planned quads as doubles on his path to victory over the weekend in San Jose.

"This wasn't the skate that I wanted," Malinin said, per the Associated Press. "There's always ups and downs, and you just have to get over it and move on for the next thing."

Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Ilia Malinin won the men's Figure Skating Championship on Sunday

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Malinin ended his championship run on Sunday with 287.74 points, leaving him 10 points ahead of second-place finisher Jason Brown and also ahead of third-place finisher Andrew Torgashev, who finished with 177.78 points.

During his program, instead of his two planned quads, he landed the two doubles and even landed what the AP described as a "triple lutz-triple axel-triple toe loop sequence" to cap it off.

Before nationals, the champion said he spent much of his time focusing on his short program, which he felt ultimately hindered him during the free skate. "I think I was a little bit sluggish back there," he said, "and I just wasn't very prepared for what was about to happen."

Tony Avelar/AP/Shutterstock Ilia Malinin won the men's Figure Skating Championship on Sunday

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As the AP notes, the reigning national champ remained stoic after winning and pointed out the flaws in his performance, while Brian Boitano — the first U.S. skater to land a triple axel — described what the skater was going through as a "really hard situation."

"It's hard to be a pioneer," Boitano said. "When there's nobody else doing it, it's a really hard situation. You have to push yourself."

Tony Ding/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Ilia Malinin won the men's Figure Skating Championship on Sunday

Last year's national championships saw the teen finish behind winner Nathan Chen, who ended up ultimately winning gold at the Beijing Olympics. According to reports, Chen has been focusing on attending school at Yale.

Brown placed sixth at the Olympics last year, and he along with the national champion and Torgashev have all now earned selection for the World Figure Skating Championships in Saitama, Japan this March.

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In the women's competition, Isabeau Levito, Bradie Tennell, and Amber Glenn earned the top three national spots. Levito, 15, won gold by surpassing 2018 Olympic figure skating team bronze medalist Tennell. She beat her out by 0.2 points in the short program, before widening that lead to at least 10 points during her freeskate.

"I was just very proud of myself for having collected myself and done the program that I needed to do," Levito said, per the Associated Press. "Going into this event, my entire goal truly for almost even both programs was to stay composed...to really not let little minor, silly mistakes happen."