Ilia Malinin arrived in Massachusetts as the clear favorite to defend his world figure skating championship. On Thursday afternoon at TD Garden, he launched his title defense with one of the greatest short programs ever performed.
The 20-year-old American, nicknamed the Quad God, delivered a career-best first segment, scoring 110.41 points to take a 3.32-point lead over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama heading into Saturday night’s free skate. It was the highest short program score of Malinin’s international career, ranking behind only Olympic gold medalists Nathan Chen and Yuzuru Hanyu on the ISU’s all-time list.
With Kagiyama also skating one of the best programs on record about one point shy of a personal best the stage is set for a showdown between two of the sport’s most electrifying skaters. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov (94.77), this year’s Four Continents winner, sits in third but more than 15 points behind Malinin.
“I can’t describe how I feel right now,” Malinin said. “All I remember is getting on that ice. I felt really nervous, more than usual, and I didn’t know what was going to happen. But once the music came on, I just got into a flow state and it really just went from there.”
Malinin’s performance, set to Running by NF, included a clean quadruple flip, a triple Axel, and a quad Lutz–triple toe loop combination. He typically saves his signature quad Axel the four-and-a-half-revolution jump that had never been landed in competition until he pulled it off in 2022 for the free skate. He remains undefeated since 2023 and is riding an eight-event win streak.
By the time he completed his final step sequence, the entire arena was on its feet. “I heard the cheering but I didn’t take enough time to see how people were reacting to me,” he said. “I was so excited. I didn’t even finish skating yet, and they were already standing and cheering so loud.”
His main rival, Kagiyama, was elegant and precise in his own right, delivering an exquisite routine to Montenegrin guitarist Miloš Karadaglic’s cover of The Sound of Silence. The 2022 Olympic and three-time world silver medalist has spent the year closing the gap with Malinin. Yet a familiar resignation crept into his comments. “He does all those difficult jumps, and he makes them look effortless,” Kagiyama said through a translator. “Maybe he is putting in effort, but to us, it looks effortless and really easy. And it’s not just his jumps. His skating and artistry, his expression is getting better year by year, so I’m starting to think he’s invincible.”
Behind them, France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, bronze medalist at last year’s worlds and reigning European champion, placed ninth (87.22) after a fall. The 23-year-old was the last skater to defeat Malinin internationally and has rebounded from injury this season. He has overcome tough odds before, reaching the podium last year after placing 19th in the short program.
The men’s free skate on Saturday will bring more than medals into play. Malinin is expected to attempt a seven-quad layout, including the quad Axel, and will likely feature his signature backflip a legal addition to his program for the first time at worlds.
The move hasn’t been landed legally at a world championship in nearly 50 years. The last to do it was American Terry Kubicka in 1976 before the International Skating Union banned the element for being too dangerous. The ban was lifted last June, with the ISU acknowledging the move’s spectacle and evolving safety standards.
Famously, France’s Surya Bonaly defied the ban at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, landing a one-footed backflip in protest. Though penalized, the move became a symbol of resistance and individuality in the sport.
Malinin first debuted the backflip in competition at the Lombardia Trophy in September and has since used it as a crowd-pleasing punctuation. “It fits the music really well,” he said. “It gets that audience applause, feels really suspenseful, and I really just like doing it.”
While it doesn’t earn points, the flip enhances his performance scores and highlights his creative flair something few others can match.
His combination of technical innovation, competitive nerve, and choreographic audacity has made Malinin a star. The crowd seems to be catching on. The lower bowl and much of the upper deck of the 17,850-seat TD Garden were filled an unusually strong turnout for a Thursday afternoon in a sport where weekday sessions often play to half-full arenas. It was a clear signal of Malinin’s growing profile, both within and beyond the sport.
Fellow Americans Andrew Torgashev and Jason Brown also delivered solid performances, with Torgashev finishing eighth (87.27) and Brown 12th (84.72) after each posted their highest international scores of the season. But Friday belonged to Malinin. He skated clean, he skated fearless, and on a stage primed for something bigger, he delivered his best.
The first medals of this year’s world championships will be awarded later Thursday in the pairs’ free skate, with Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan leading Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii after Wednesday’s short program.
