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Six weeks after an Olympic free-skate disaster knocked him off the podium, Fairfax native Ilia Malinin delivered a commanding comeback Saturday in Prague, winning his third consecutive world figure skating championship.
Known as the “quad god,” Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps and added a backflip as he successfully defended his men’s title. He shouted and punched the air after completing the routine, showing visible relief after days of dwelling on his Olympic mistakes.
Malinin thanked the crowd for helping him through an experience he described as difficult. His immediate objective, he said, was simply to finish the free skate “in one piece.”
As at the Milan Olympics, Malinin entered the free skate in first place after the short program and performed last. He did not attempt his pioneering quadruple axel, which he also left out of his Olympic program.
A fresh approach after the Olympics
Malinin said the end of the Olympic pressure allowed him to arrive at the world championships with a different outlook. He tried to shut out outside expectations and concentrate on enjoying his time on the ice.
His free skate earned 218.11 points, giving him a winning total of 329.40. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama claimed silver with 306.67, while fellow Japanese skater Shun Sato took bronze with 288.54.
Kagiyama surpassed his personal-best free-skate score but finished second at the world championships for the fourth time. His career also includes four Olympic silver medals and five world championship medals, though he has yet to win gold at either competition.
After Malinin’s performance, Kagiyama embraced the American, and the two jumped together in celebration.
Kagiyama said another silver medal did not trouble him. Following his own disappointing Olympic free skate, he came to Prague focused on producing a performance he could feel satisfied with and said he was relieved to achieve that goal.
France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, second after the short program, fell during his free skate and dropped to fifth overall. Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko also fell, sliding from third place to sixth.
Malinin did not get a rematch with Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov. The Kazakh skater chose not to compete again this season, a relatively common decision for gold medalists managing media and commercial demands after a taxing four-year Olympic buildup.
With the victory, Malinin became the first man to win three straight world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen. Chen won in 2018, 2019 and 2021; the 2020 championships were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Olympic champions capture ice dance crown
France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron added a world ice dance title to their Olympic gold medal.
They scored a personal-best 138.07 in the free dance and finished with another personal best of 230.81, completing a successful and frequently controversial first season as partners. Ice dance was the only event in Prague featuring the reigning Milan Cortina Olympic champions.
Canadian Olympic bronze medalists Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier scored 211.52 to earn their third consecutive world silver medal.
Olympic silver medalists Madison Chock and Evan Bates withdrew before the championships, but Americans Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik secured an unexpected bronze with 209.20.
The result was determined after Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson received an uncommon two-point deduction for an “illegal element/movement,” dropping them behind the U.S. team. Officials did not immediately explain the precise violation.
Kaori Sakamoto won the women’s competition Friday, capturing her fourth world title before retirement. Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won the pairs championship Thursday.