Figure skating world champion Ilia Malinin warmed up for the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo (February 6-22) at the US Championships in St. Louis.
The gold favorite of the Winter Games, celebrated as the “Quadruple God”, once again ran in his own sphere in the national title fights and confidently secured his fourth title in a row.
After a rousing short program and a rather conservative free skate (209.78) with “only” three quadruple jumps, the 21-year-old Malinin scored 324.88 points.
The lead over second-placed Andrew Torgashev (267.62) was clear, Maxim Naumov (249.16) came third.
Naumov, who lost his famous parents Yevgenia Schishkova and Vadim Naumov – the 1994 pair skating world champions – in a tragic plane accident near Washington DC in January 2025, can therefore hope for a ticket to the Olympics.
In the men’s individual competition in Milan, the eyes will primarily be on Malinin. “I wasn’t quite sure what to expect before the event. So I decided not to take any risks,” said Malinin: “I wanted to be on the safe side.”