Ilya Malinin of the United States lived up to his reputation as the “God of the Quads” on Saturday, winning his third consecutive Grand Prix Figure Skating final and cementing his place as the gold medal favorite at the Cortina Winter Olympics in Milan.
Finishing in a disappointing third place after the short program, Malinin became the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in competition, scoring a free skate record of 238.24 points and a total of 332.29.
“This is some of the best skating I've ever had,” Malinin said. “I went out on the ice and I had to fight for every single element, and I was so glad that I could do it in front of the Japanese public.”
Among the quadruple jumps he performed were a quadruple axel and a quadruple loop.
Before the free skate, Malinin said he was thinking about trying six quads on Saturday. He went even better.
“The Grand Prix Final is a place where I can try something new and new elements to understand what is possible, especially this year with the Olympics,” Malinin said. “So I decided I wanted to go all out and give myself a framework of what (my program) could look like.”
Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, who led after the short program, took the silver medal with a score of 302.41 points, while his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato was third with a score of 292.08.
Malinin, who had not lost a single competition for more than two years, two-time and current world champion and three-time Grand Prix Final champion.
He said his victory on Saturday was a big confidence boost ahead of his Olympic debut in February.
“It gives me a lot of confidence that I can go out and achieve this,” Malinin said. “I will spend the next two months before the Olympics perfecting everything, really working on all my weaknesses and making everything as perfect as possible.”
World champion in women's competitions Alyssa Liu She finished third in the free skate, but that was enough to allow the American to win the gold medal with a total score of 222.49 points, giving her confidence heading into the Olympics.
“It gives me confidence in my endurance and consistency,” Liu said. “But a lot can happen before the Olympics, I still have nationals but I will continue to train, working on my endurance.”
Teenager Ami Nakai of Japan, who landed a clean triple Axel, was second with 220.89 points, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto was third with 218.80 points.
Sakamoto, who will retire after the Olympics, won the free skate despite landing a double Axel.
Liu landed seven triple jumps and a double Axel to score 146.70 points in the free skate.
Monet Chiba, who was in the lead after the short program, fell on the triple loop and triple Salchow and dropped to fifth place. Reigning Grand Prix Final champion Amber Glenn from the United States performed a clean triple Axel to move up to fourth place from sixth.
The women's result once again highlights the fact that there is no clear favorite at the Olympic Games.
The International Skating Union has decided to allow Russian figure skaters to compete at next year's Olympic Games in a neutral status, but only in men's and women's competitions.
Adelia Petrosyan will perform for the women, and Petr Gumennik for the men.
In ice dancing, Olympic favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won their third consecutive Grand Prix Final title with a season-best score of 131.68 in the free skate for a total of 220.42.
Laurence Fournier Baudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France took the silver medal with 214.25 points, while Laila Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain took bronze with 208.81 points.
Chock and Bates, three-time reigning world champions, won a record sixth ice dance title at Skate America in November. They also won the Chinese Cup in the Grand Prix series.
Chock and Bates will be the favorites to win gold medals at the Olympics.
“There are so many positive things we can bring to the second half of the season,” Chalk said. “It’s always a pleasure to compete against the best skaters in the world and we look forward to progressing in the second half of the season.”
They won the Grand Prix Final in 2023 and 2024.
