Standing ovation as defending champ Malinin grabs world figure skating lead
Defending champion Ilia Malinin on his way to victory in the short program (Geoff Robins)
Defending champion Ilia Malinin seized command of the men's competition at the World Figure Skating Championships on Thursday with one of the greatest short programs ever performed.
Fans gave the 20-year-old American a standing ovation before his finish in a routine that earned judges scores of 110.41 points, fourth-best short program score ever in the event at worlds.
"I heard the cheering but I didn't take enough time to see how people were reacting to me," Malinin said. "I was so excited. I didn't even finish skating yet and they were already standing and cheering me so loud."
Advertisement
Nicknamed "Quad God" for his skill at quadruple jumps, Malinin dazzled the spectators with a brilliant performance.
His effort left Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the 2022 Olympic runner-up and a three-time world runner-up, second on 107.09 with Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shadorov, the Four Continents champion, a distant third on 94.77.
Malinin said he felt more nervous than usual as he stepped onto the ice but responded when his music began.
"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.
Advertisement
"But once the music came on, I just got into that slow skate and it really just went from there."
The men's title will be decided in Saturday's free skate final.
"It's going to be really fun and I'm really excited," Malinin said of his free skate program.
He said he was pleased to see Kagiyama deliver such a strong performance just after him in the final performance of the session.
"I'm so excited for Yuma. He looked really confident out there," Malinin said. "I was watching him boardside right after I got off so I was supporting him and I'm glad he did really good."
Advertisement
The pairs title will be decided later Thursday with the free skate final after Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won Wednesday's short program.
The meet is being conducted with heavy hearts after 28 of 67 people who died when an American Airlines plane collided with a military helicopter in Washington on January 30 were members of the skating community, three of them who trained at Malinin's Washington Skating club.
js/dj
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hamilton Spectator
30 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Harrison, Dvalishvili celebrate as 135-pound champions at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Kayla Harrison had just added UFC gold to her championship fight collection — and hugged it out with President Donald Trump — and still clutched the title belt when she bumped into Merab Dvalishvili backstage. Dvalishvili was on cloud nine — well, make it 13 to match his winning streak — after he successfully defended his 135-pound championship with a dominant performance in the main event of UFC 316. Two bantamweight champions. One big party. 'Congratulations, champ! Let me raise your hand,' Dvalishvili told Harrison. 'We are the champions!' Dvalishvili then issued a quick pointer to Harrison — more used to wearing Olympic gold around her neck —- on how to hold the belt for a photo opp. She best enjoy her time atop the division while she can — Harrison's presumed next challenger in Amanda Nunes stepping out of retirement and into the cage for a chance to get her belt back. Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O'Malley in the third round and Harrison made 135-pound champion Julianna Peña quit with five seconds left in the second round in front of a crowd that included Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O'Malley. O'Malley realized after the loss to truly be at his best — as a fighter , as a family man — he needed to make difficult lifestyle sacrifices to round himself into peak form. The 30-year-old contender quit smoking marijuana among other bad habits and also ditched his trademark dyed hair. No more cornucopia of colors that turned his locks into rainbows or cotton candy tops. O'Malley sported brown, braided hair for the fight — leaving his fans to wear bright afro wigs in his honor. New look, same result. Dvalishvili — who had to duck a small railing collapse on his walk out that almost had fans spill onto the floor — ran his record to 20-4 and sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the 17,343 fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory, tied for fourth longest in UFC history. 'I'm on top of the world!,' he said inside the cage. That made the bantamweight champs 1 for 2 on the night. Harrison, who said she struggled so hard with cutting weight to 135 pounds that she feared just how she would make it in one piece ahead of the weigh in, continued to move up the list in just a short time as one of the great female fighters in MMA history. She's used to major victories in the spotlight. No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain's Gemma Gibbons to win the women's 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018. The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot. She needed just three UFC fights to become a champion. Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration as Ivanka Trump stood and snapped photos of the moment. Harrison then called out Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner. 'I definitely want to fight Amanda. She's the greatest of all time,' Harrison said. 'I want to be the greatest of all time.' Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked in and the two went face-to-face. Nunes, who is set for induction this summer into the UFC Hall of Fame, said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt. The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown. 'We're going to bring women's MMA to a whole new level,' Harrison said. The moment had fans roaring in delight much as they did hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.' Harrison took a page from her judo career and bowed to Trump as a sign of respect before the bout and hugged him after the win. She received a congratulatory kiss on the cheek from Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage. It wasn't the only nod to Trump's latest appearance at a UFC fight. UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview. Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision. 'We've got the President of the United States! We've got Mike Tyson,' Pyfer bellowed inside the cage. ___ AP sports:
NBC Sports
43 minutes ago
- NBC Sports
Walsh ties Douglass' 50m free American record
Gretchen Walsh held off Torri Huske with a time of 23.91, tying Kate Douglass' 50m free American Record at U.S. Swimming Championships in Indianapolis.
Fox Sports
43 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Harrison, Dvalishvili celebrate as 135-pound champions at UFC 316 with President Trump looking on
Associated Press NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Kayla Harrison had just added UFC gold to her championship fight collection — and hugged it out with President Donald Trump — and still clutched the title belt when she bumped into Merab Dvalishvili backstage. Dvalishvili was on cloud nine — well, make it 13 to match his winning streak — after he successfully defended his 135-pound championship with a dominant performance in the main event of UFC 316. Two bantamweight champions. One big party. 'Congratulations, champ! Let me raise your hand,' Dvalishvili told Harrison. 'We are the champions!' Dvalishvili then issued a quick pointer to Harrison — more used to wearing Olympic gold around her neck —- on how to hold the belt for a photo opp. She best enjoy her time atop the division while she can — Harrison's presumed next challenger in Amanda Nunes stepping out of retirement and into the cage for a chance to get her belt back. Dvalishvili retained his 135-pound championship when he tapped out Sean O'Malley in the third round and Harrison made 135-pound champion Julianna Pena quit with five seconds left in the second round in front of a crowd that included Trump and retired heavyweight great Mike Tyson on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. Dvalishvili, a 34-year-old from the country of Georgia, won the belt in a convincing — though not aesthetically pleasing — unanimous decision last year over O'Malley. O'Malley realized after the loss to truly be at his best — as a fighter, as a family man — he needed to make difficult lifestyle sacrifices to round himself into peak form. The 30-year-old contender quit smoking marijuana among other bad habits and also ditched his trademark dyed hair. No more cornucopia of colors that turned his locks into rainbows or cotton candy tops. O'Malley sported brown, braided hair for the fight — leaving his fans to wear bright afro wigs in his honor. New look, same result. Dvalishvili — who had to duck a small railing collapse on his walk out that almost had fans spill onto the floor — ran his record to 20-4 and sat on top of the cage and bellowed toward the 17,343 fans in the start of an exuberant celebration of his 13th straight MMA victory, tied for fourth longest in UFC history. 'I'm on top of the world!,' he said inside the cage. That made the bantamweight champs 1 for 2 on the night. Harrison, who said she struggled so hard with cutting weight to 135 pounds that she feared just how she would make it in one piece ahead of the weigh in, continued to move up the list in just a short time as one of the great female fighters in MMA history. She's used to major victories in the spotlight. No U.S. judoka — man or woman — had ever won an Olympic gold medal before Harrison beat Britain's Gemma Gibbons to win the women's 78-kilogram division at the 2012 London Olympics. She won gold again four years later at the Rio de Janeiro Games and made her MMA debut in 2018. The 34-year-old Harrison was a two-time $1 million prize champion in the Professional Fighters League lightweight championship division before she moved on to UFC last year. She won her first two UFC bouts and her record — now a sparkling 19-1 in MMA overall — coupled with her fame made her an instant contender for a title shot. She needed just three UFC fights to become a champion. Harrison dropped to her knees in a teary celebration as Ivanka Trump stood and snapped photos of the moment. Harrison then called out Nunes, who retired in 2023 but said ahead of the fight she would return to the cage to fight the winner. 'I definitely want to fight Amanda. She's the greatest of all time,' Harrison said. 'I want to be the greatest of all time.' Harrison called out Nunes to enter the ring and after some encouragement from announcer Joe Rogan for security to open the cage door, she walked in and the two went face-to-face. Nunes, who is set for induction this summer into the UFC Hall of Fame, said she would indeed fight Harrison at some point for the 135-pound belt. The crowd went wild as the two engaged in a brief staredown. 'We're going to bring women's MMA to a whole new level,' Harrison said. The moment had fans roaring in delight much as they did hours earlier when Trump walked out to a thunderous standing ovation just ahead of the start of the UFC pay-per-view card. Trump was accompanied by UFC President Dana White and the pair headed to their cageside seats for UFC 316 to Kid Rock's 'American Bad Ass.' Harrison took a page from her judo career and bowed to Trump as a sign of respect before the bout and hugged him after the win. She received a congratulatory kiss on the cheek from Trump and posed for photos with the President and his entourage. It wasn't the only nod to Trump's latest appearance at a UFC fight. UFC fighter Kevin Holland choked out Vicente Luque to win the first fight with Trump in the building. He scaled the cage and shook hands with Trump. He briefly chatted with Trump and White before he returned for his post-fight interview. Joe Pyfer draped himself in the American flag after he defeated Kelvin Gastelum in a middleweight bout by unanimous decision. 'We've got the President of the United States! We've got Mike Tyson,' Pyfer bellowed inside the cage. ___ AP sports:
