Malinin rebounds from Olympics at the worlds with a personal-best short program
AP News • • sports
Key Points:
- Ilia Malinin led the short program at the figure skating world championships with a personal-best score of 111.29, overcoming his disappointing performance at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
- Malinin, known as the "Quad God," executed difficult jumps including a quad flip and a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination, positioning himself with a commanding lead heading into the free skate.
- French skater Adam Siao Him Fa and Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko placed second and third respectively after the short program, while notable skaters like Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama struggled with errors.
- In pairs, German duo Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won their first world championship gold with a near flawless free skate, following previous bronze and silver medals at the event.
- American pairs faced challenges, with Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov finishing sixth after mistakes, and Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe placing 16th due to falls; Olympic champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara did not compete.
