Ilia Malinin Wins Third World Title In Redemptive Free Skate

2026-03-28 · Yahoo Sports

USA's Ilia Malinin performs during the men's free skating program of the 2026 ISU Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic on March 28, 2026. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin cruised to his third consecutive world title in Prague on Saturday, returning to the top of the podium after a heartbreaking eighth-place finish at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics.

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After his collapse in Milan, Malinin sought a redemption competition at the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships. On Saturday, he achieved his goal. “My expectation was to leave the long program in one piece, and I think that happened,” Malinin said following his skate.

His skate included his signature quadruple Axel, the most difficult skill in figure skating. The American is the first athlete to complete the skill. With his win, the 21-year-old became the first men’s skater to win three titles since Nathan Chen.

Malinin edged out the reigning Olympic silver and bronze medalists, Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato of Japan, who repeated their results from Milan-Cortina. For Kagiyama, Saturday’s silver medal marks his fifth individual world medal and fourth silver.

Saturday’s competition was a marked improvement from the men’s free skate in Milan-Cortina, which saw many of the top competitors collapse on Olympic ice. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov won Olympic gold with a total score of 291.58 in February, a score that would have won bronze today in Prague.

Americans Andrew Torgashev and Jacob Sanchez finished in tenth and 12th overall, respectively. For Torgashev, the result marked a sizable improvement from his 22nd-place finish at the 2025 world championships.

Men’s Singles Final Results (Top 10):

Ilia Malinin (United States): 329.40
Yuma Kagiyama (Japan): 306.67
Shun Sato (Japan): 288.54
Stephen Gogolev (Canada): 281.04
Adam Siao Him Fa (France): 271.56
Aleksandr Selevko (Estonia): 270.92
Kevin Aymoz (France): 269.13
Daniel Grassl (Italy): 254.94
Lukas Britschgi (Switzerland): 251.90
Andrew Torgashev (United States): 249.41

The Prague Play-by-Play

Heading into the final group, Kevin Aymoz of France led the competition after a spectacular performance in the free skate. Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama skated first on Saturday, looking to redeem his fluke mistake in the short program.

Kagiyama started beautifully, nailing his quadruple Salchow. Landing his final jump – a triple Axel – the veteran broke into celebration on the ice as the crowd roared. Before Kagiyama finished his final spin, the crowd was already on its feet.

“One of the best performances that this sport has seen,” commentator Mark Hanretty remarked. The judges agreed, awarding Kagiyama with a record component score to rocket above Aymoz into first place.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama performs during the men's free skating program of the 2026 ISU Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic on March 28, 2026. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Next up was the fifth-highest qualifier, Stephen Gogolev of Canada. Gogolev added to the list of incredible performances on Saturday, fighting through his jumps for a stellar free skate in his first world championship. Gogolov earned a strong 186.66 in the free skate, finishing behind Yagiyama with four skaters to go.

2026 Olympic bronze medalist Shun Sato skated next, hoping to mirror the successes of his veteran Japanese teammate. Sato delivered, skating cleanly to close his second world championship on a high note. With a 192.70 in the free skate, Sato secured a guaranteed improvement on his sixth-place finish from 2025.

Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko was a surprise star in Thursday’s short program, finishing third over the Japanese duo thanks to a personal-best score. However, the same would not happen on Saturday, with the Estonian falling on his opening quadruple jump. While Selevko rebounded successfully, he received a personal-best 173.93 to rank behind Gogolev of Canada.

Kagiyama’s sizable lead held with just two men to skate. Adam Siao Him Fa, former European Champion and world bronze medalist, skated next. Like women’s skater Amber Glenn, Siao Him Fa has long had the talent to achieve top marks but often falters at the most crucial moments.

Fans show their support during the Men's Short Program at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 at O2 Arena Prague on March 26, 2026, in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

NurPhoto via Getty Images

Unfortunately, the same was true today in Prague. Though Siao Him Fa fought for many of his landings in an improvement from Milan-Cortina, he crashed into the ice on a key quadruple jump and committed multiple costly errors. After sitting in silver-medal position, the Frenchman fell to fourth with Malinin to go.

Ilia Malinin would skate last, skating the same program from the Milan-Cortina Olympics. Could the 21-year-old put his Olympic mistakes behind him?

Malinin opened with two massive quadruple jumps, nailing his famed quadruple Axel as his second jump. Though Malinin downgraded a couple of his planned jumps, the skate marked resounding redemption.

The crowd rose to its feet as Malinin saluted the audience, breaking into celebration and a beaming smile – a stark departure from his heartbreak in Milan-Cortina. Malinin would win his third-world title, joining a list of iconic names in men’s figure skating.

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