The announcement of the composition of the US national figure skating team following the results of the last weekend's national championship turned into a small scandal. 17-year-old Ilya Malinin, who won silver at his debut adult tournament, was left out of the list and announced only as a substitute. And this despite the fact that he performed four quadruple jumps in the free program and surpassed third-place Vincent Zhou by more than 10 points. Instead of the junior, the more experienced Jason Brown will fly to Beijing, who took only fourth place at the tournament in Nashville. Malinin will be able to take part in the April World Championship, but will perform in Montpellier only if he receives a technical minimum in the short program.
The United States Figure Skating Association did not comment on this decision. At the same time, the selection rules for the national team for the main tournaments stipulate that successful performance at the national championship is not the most important condition for getting into the Games. In America, to determine the composition, all starts are considered, starting with last year's championship, and candidates for the national team do not need to occupy any specific place: you can simply enter the top three or five of the strongest.
In total, there are three criteria for selection for the Olympics. The first is competitiveness, according to which the federation determines the potential result of an athlete at the Olympic Games-2022, based on the performance at the World Cup-2021. The second condition is stability - all grades for the year are considered, and the average score is calculated for them. And finally, during the selection process, the skater's progress is monitored throughout the Olympic season: how much his results grow.
Malinin and Brown were roughly equal. Jason's advantage was the prizes at the Grand Prix stages, getting into the top 10 at the World Cup and more stable results at the senior level. Malinin, on the other hand, managed to get the highest maximum score, achieve tangible progress, and also win a medal at the last US championship. According to the rules, given the equality of other indicators, the decisive advantage should be a place in the national championship, which is just higher for an athlete with Russian roots.
The final decision of the selection committee caused a violent negative reaction among the fans.
Blogger and musician Jonathan Bayer even expressed the opinion that in such a situation it would be right if Russia came into contact with the skater and offered to play for its national team.
Malinin himself was also not happy with the verdict and began to leave likes on social networks under the comments, in which users wondered how he could not have been included in the OI-2022.
Brown vs Malinin:
Competitiveness: Both are in priority group 3 (Brown's top 10 scores in GP / CS, Malinin's top 3 Natls)
Consistency: Brown has higher median score
Trending scores: Malinin trends higher
Graphic below incl add'l criteria for same priority group # ToyotaUSChamps22pic.twitter.com / VJnWDLHlEb
- Jackie Wong (@rockerskating) January 9, 2022
The famous coach Rafael Harutyunyan, who has been collaborating with the 17-year-old figure skater for the past two years, did not hide his displeasure.
The specialist in an interview with RT admitted that it is difficult for him to find words to describe his outrage.
“The point here is not at all that I worked with Ilya and did everything possible for him to achieve such a level of result. I have never engaged in protectionism in relation to the athletes with whom I work, and even more so I am not going to do it now. But Ilya is the second in the national championship. Second!!! And with a margin. Yes, he is not old enough, only 17, but he is potentially the future of the country in which he lives. With a Russian name and a Russian surname, but he is American. And the fact that he was not included in the Olympic team testifies, in my opinion, to a blatantly unprofessional approach, ”Harutyunyan said.
In his opinion, the federation needs to change the selection rules for the national team if the person who won the silver at the last national championship a month before the Games does not get into it.
Moreover, the coach is sure that the young athlete could well bring his country a medal.
“We don't even know who exactly is on the commission dealing with this issue.
I do not know for sure.
But right after the roster was announced, I called one of the people responsible for the development of figure skating in America and asked how he would now look this boy and his parents in the eyes?
What did this guy do wrong?
In addition, I called Ilya's parents and said that I wanted to apologize to them for what happened on behalf of all American figure skating.
I am really ashamed of this decision.
I just can't explain it, ”the specialist summed up.
Another student of Harutyunyan, Nathan Chen, highly appreciated Malinin's performance.
The three-time world champion admitted that he was surprised by the junior's rapid progress.
“In terms of quality and consistency, Ilya significantly surpasses me in 2016.
Obviously, he has a great future ahead of him, "- quoted by Chen NBC Sports.
At the same time, Nathan believes that Brown and Zhou deserve to take part in the Olympics with their performances and results over the past two years.
Brown, in turn, expressed the opinion that Malinin skated an excellent free program and sympathized with his compatriot.
“I can’t say anything that could convey his feelings at this moment.
I can only note that he is simply amazing, and American figure skating is very lucky to have such a bright future thanks to Ilya, "concluded Brown.
Malinin is the son of former figure skaters Tatyana Malinina and Roman Skornyakov, who represented Uzbekistan at international competitions and moved to the United States in 1998.
The athlete himself was born in the state of Virginia, where he lives, training under the guidance of his parents.
This season, he won the junior Grand Prix stages in France and Austria.