Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection
Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection

Four-time national figure skating champion Ilia Malinin, the only person in the world to have landed a quad axel in competition, is the heavy favorite for gold at this year’s Winter Olympics. The 21-year-old from Virginia talks with correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti about his record-breaking skills which have made him a superstar in the sport.
Read the full article on CBS Sports
Truth Analysis
Analysis Summary:
The article is mostly accurate, with the primary claim about Ilia Malinin being a four-time national champion and the only person to land a quad axel being supported by CBS News. The article exhibits minimal bias, presenting Malinin as a superstar in the sport. The claim about being a heavy favorite for gold at the Winter Olympics is plausible but not directly verified by the provided sources.
Detailed Analysis:
- Claim: Ilia Malinin is a four-time national figure skating champion.
- Verification Source #5: CBS News confirms that Ilia Malinin is a four-time national figure skating champion.
- Assessment: Supported
- Claim: Ilia Malinin is the only person in the world to have landed a quad axel in competition.
- Verification Source #5: CBS News confirms that Ilia Malinin is the only person in the world to have landed a quad axel.
- Assessment: Supported
- Claim: Ilia Malinin is the heavy favorite for gold at this year's Winter Olympics.
- Verification Source #1: Source 1 mentions that Ilia Malinin looks invincible to his top rival at figure skating worlds, which suggests he is a strong competitor.
- Assessment: Plausible, but not directly verified. Source 1 suggests strong performance.
- Claim: The interview is about Ilia Malinin's pursuit of perfection.
- Verification Source #2: Source 2 mentions 'SPORTS: Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection'
- Verification Source #4: Source 4 mentions 'SPORTS: Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection'
- Verification Source #5: Source 5 mentions 'SPORTS: Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection'
- Verification Source #3: Source 3 mentions 'In most of those events, the only real competition Malinin had was his own stubborn pursuit of perfection.'
- Assessment: Supported
Supporting Evidence/Contradictions:
- CBS News confirms Ilia Malinin is a four-time national figure skating champion and the only person to land a quad axel (Source 5).
- Multiple sources confirm the interview is about Ilia Malinin's pursuit of perfection (Sources 2, 3, 4, 5).
