Oh my quadg0d: Ilia Malinin crushes the Skate Canada field - and even tops himself

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Oh my quadg0d: Ilia Malinin crushes the Skate Canada field - and even tops himself


 There comes a point in the careers of some extraordinary athletes when they are competing against only themselves and the record books.

And, ipso facto, given that the athlete has to be extraordinary to face such a challenge, he or she finds it harder and harder to top past achievements.

At his best (or near it), two-time reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the U.S. now is in that position at age 20, competing only against himself in men’s singles figure skating.

That should be clear from his winning margin over runner-up Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia in the Skate Canada Grand Prix that ended Sunday in Regina, Saskatchewan.

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With investigation over, no one will know if judge's alleged impropriety cost Spanish ice dance team an Olympic spot

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With investigation over, no one will know if judge's alleged impropriety cost Spanish ice dance team an Olympic spot

The International Skating Union said Monday it has dropped disciplinary proceedings against a Belarusian judge due to his resignation, which seems to have been conveniently timed.

That means it never will be known if a Spanish ice dance team lost a chance to go to the 2018 Olympics because of Alexandre Gorojdanov’s alleged violations of his duties as judge.

It also means the ISU’s inexplicable refusal to give an automatic lifetime ban to any judge or referee found to have violated the ethical rules of those duties allowed Gorojdanov the chance to potentially corrupt the results of another competition.  The Belarusian had served a 6 1/2-month suspension from Jan. 13 to June 30, 2017, after having been found in violation of the ISU code of ethics as a pairs referee at a 2016 event.

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Skate judge under investigation resigns; status of inquiry uncertain. Was Spanish Olympic dance selection affected?

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Skate judge under investigation resigns; status of inquiry uncertain. Was Spanish Olympic dance selection affected?

Alexandre Gorojdanov, the Belarusian under investigation for questionable actions at a December figure skating competition, has resigned from his positions as an international judge and referee.

Gordojadnov’s resignation was confirmed in a Saturday email by Alexander Lakernik of Russia, the International Skating Union’s top figure skating official.

Lakernik, ISU vice-president for figure skating, would not comment on the reason for Gorojdanov’s resignation or whether it meant the investigation was over.

"I can confirm the rest only after the formal decision is taken," Lakernik wrote.

Globetrotting reported exclusively Dec. 20 that Gorojdanov, who served a 6 1/2-month suspension earlier in 2017 for violating the ISU code of ethics as a pairs referee at a 2016 event, was under investigation again for his behavior at the Golden Spin of Zagreb, an ISU Challenger Series event Dec. 6-9 in Zagreb, Croatia.

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