The moment came on the final pass. Mikhail Malkin held his line down the track in Coimbra, set for the skill no competitor had committed to the floor before, and rode it out on his feet. The Miller to Full in Triple Pike. A world first, landed when it counted, at the FIG Trampoline and Tumbling World Cup Finale in Portugal on 5 July 2026.
The judges returned 32.300. It was enough for the Coimbra title, and enough to place Malkin ahead of Vasco Peso of Portugal and his compatriot Tofig Aliyev of Azerbaijan. The margin sat in the difficulty. Where the field built their passes on established combinations, Malkin carried a skill into the arena that existed until then only in training footage and ambition.
Where it was decided
A tumbling final rewards nerve as much as power. The run is short. There is no chance to correct a set that leaves the ground wrong. Malkin's pass asked for a triple-pike rotation carried through the Miller and closed with the full twist, the elements stacked so tightly that a fraction of hesitation ends the attempt on the mat rather than on the feet. He did not hesitate. The landing held, the score confirmed the difficulty, and the home crowd in Coimbra watched an Azerbaijani athlete take the podium's top step against a Portuguese favourite on his own floor.




