Six weeks after his Olympic nightmare, the 'quad god' landed five quadruple jumps and a backflip to retain his world championship title.
Six weeks after his Olympic nightmare, the"quad god" landed five quadruple jumps and a backflip to retain his world championship title.Confused about the difference between Ilia Malinin’s quad Axel and quad Lutz? Olympic figure skater Mariah Bell breaks down all six of his quad jumps and explains what makes each one unique.
knocked the Olympic gold-medal favorite off the podium, the “quad god” reeled off one huge jump after another, and a backflip for good measure, to retain his world championship title for the third year running.Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from theHe praised the crowd’s support, saying: “It was really challenging, really hard but with you guys I was able to make it through.” His aim, he added, had simply been to get through the free skate “in one piece.”last after leading the short program, just as he did in Milan, Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics.Joosep Martinson - International Skating Union/International Skating Union via Getty Images Ilia Malinin of United States competes in the Men's Free Skating during the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at O2 Arena on March 28, 2026 in Prague, Czech Republic. Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54. Kagiyama beat his personal-best free skate score but still had to make do with a fourth career world championship silver in a career which includes four Olympic silvers and five total worlds medals, but no gold from either event. He still embraced Malinin after his skate and they jumped together in celebration.In a showcase of top-level skating, there was no podium spot for France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who had been in second after the short program but dropped to fifth overall after a fall. Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko also fell dropped from third to sixth. Malinin had no rematch with Mikhail Shaidorov, the skater from Kazakhstan who won the Olympic gold, because he opted against competing again this season. That’s relatively common in figure skating for gold medal winners who face a rush of media and commercial opportunities after a grueling four-year Olympic buildup. Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The last competition of the championships is the free dance portion of the ice dance event later Saturday. France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron are in the lead after Friday’s rhythm dance. U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin says his struggles at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics will serve as motivation for him to earn a trip to the French Alps in 2030.
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Malinin rebounds from Olympics at the worlds with a personal-best short programIlia Malinin has a massive nine-point lead at the figure skating world championships in Prague after winning the short program with a personal-best score. Malinin is the defending two-time champion. He scored 111.29 points. He opened with a quad flip and a quad lutz and triple toe loop combo. Adam Siao Him Fa of France is second.
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Malinin rebounds from Olympics at the worlds with a personal-best short programIlia Malinin has a massive nine-point lead at the figure skating world championships in Prague after winning the short program with a personal-best score
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'Quad God' Ilia Malinin rebounds from Olympics disaster at figure skating world championshipsIlia Malinin has seized his first opportunity at redemption since his 2026 Winter Olympic disaster.
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Americans seek redemption at figure skating worlds, just weeks after the OlympicsFigure Skating World Championships in Prague end on Saturday. Americans Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin are within medals' reach after disappointing finishes at last month's Olympics.
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Malinin gets 'three-peat' with world figure skating titleIlia Malinin reeled off one huge jump after another, and a backflip for good measure, to retain his world championship title for the third year running. Malinin landed five high-scoring quadruple jumps but not his pioneering quad axel, a jump he didn’t attempt at the Olympics. Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total 329.
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Ilia Malinin Dominates to Secure Third Consecutive World Championship TitleIlia Malinin delivered a commanding performance in Prague, winning his third consecutive world championship title in men's figure skating. His victory featured multiple quadruple jumps and a backflip, solidifying his dominance in the sport. The performance came weeks after a performance that knocked him from an Olympic podium. Yuma Kagiyama of Japan won the silver medal, and Shun Sato, also of Japan, took the bronze.
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