Ilia Malinin, in ‘brain-bamboozling’ skate, sets world record to win Olympic tune-up

Ilia Malinin, the 21-year-old American figure skater who hasn’t lost in more than two years, began Saturday’s free skate at the Grand Prix Final in an unusual spot — third place.

A big mistake to start Thursday’s short program had him looking up at Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, more than 14 points off the lead. It was going to take something special Saturday to keep the streak going.

How about a world record?

Malinin delivered a dazzling, seven-quad routine in Nagoya, Japan, to set the new mark in the free skate portion since the scoring system changed in 2004 and win the crowning event that caps figure skating’s annual Grand Prix season, a major international competition ahead of the 2026 Olympics in February.

He finished with 238.24 points in the free skate and 332.29 overall to beat his rival Kagiyama, who finished second with 302.41 points. Sato took third (292.08).

Malinin just missed the overall world record of 335.30, set by American Nathan Chen at the same event in 2019.

After the win, Malinin greeted the crowd in Japanese and received a big roar.

“Overall, it was pretty good,” he said of the week. “I feel so happy I was able to fight through every single element. It was such a struggle. But with all of you here cheering me on, it was so easy to get through.”

For a moment, though, Malinin looked beatable.

The first big element he had planned in Thursday’s short program was a quadruple axel — a jump no one else has ever landed in competition — followed immediately by a triple toe loop. Instead, he stepped out after an awkward landing on the axel, didn’t attempt the toe loop, and ended up in third place after the skate.

However, the longer free skate has a lot more points up for grabs, and Malinin — nicknamed the “Quad God” for his propensity for quadruple jumps — capitalized in full.

Ted Barton, calling the event on the International Skating Union feed, called it “one of the great skates in men’s figure skating history.”

“It’s brain-bamboozling what he does,” added fellow commentator Mark Hanretty, a former skater for Great Britain.

Kagiyama, 22, is the second-ranked skater in the world, an Olympic silver medalist and a three-time world championship silver medalist. On most days, against most competition, 302 points would have been plenty to win. However, Malinin continues to be on a different level.

“Tonight, with the brilliant madness of what Ilia Malinin has done, (300 points) can’t come close,” Hanretty said.

Italy’s Daniel Grassl had the second-best free skate score and finished fourth, a promising result ahead of a home Olympics for him in Milan.

At the upcoming Games, Malinin will be vying for his first Olympic medals after being controversially omitted from the 2022 Olympic team. At 17 years old, he finished second place at the U.S. championships that year, behind Chen, but the selection committee chose more experienced skaters to join Chen in Beijing.

Since then, Malinin has skated like he hasn’t forgotten about that, shooting to the top of the sport and performing never-before-seen feats. The last time he didn’t win a competition was November 2023 at the Grand Prix de France, where he was second to France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who finished fifth Saturday. Since then, he’s had a firm grip on gold, winning three straight Grand Prix Finals and two straight world championships. Next month, he’ll be a massive favorite for his fourth straight title at the U.S. championships.

After that event, the 2026 U.S. Olympic team will be announced. This time, he’s not going to get passed over.