Are you speechless watching US figure skater Ilia Malinin on the ice? Science explains how it’s possible the Quad God can do more than four full rotations in the air.

Every four years, many of us settle in for hours of Olympic figure skating—team events, ice dance, pairs, women’s, and men’s.

Just a handful of skaters have attempted a quadruple axel in competition. Malinin, a gold medal favorite at the Milan-Cortina Olympics, is the only skater who has landed one.