Malinin Lands 7 Quadruple Jumps, Us Skaters Win 3 Gold Medals on Last Day of Grand Prix Final

NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — Ilia Malinin of the United States lived up to his reputation as the “The Quad God” on Saturday, winning his third straight figure skating Grand Prix Final and solidifying his place as the gold medal favorite at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

A disappointing third after the short program, Malinin became the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in competition for a record free skate score of 238.24 points and an overall total of 332.29.

“This is one of the best skates I’ve ever had,” Malinin said “I went out on the ice and I had to fight for every single element and I was so glad I was able to do that in front of the Japanese crowd.”

Among the quad jumps he landed was a quadruple axel and a quad loop.

Before the free skate, Malinin said he was thinking about attempting six quads on Saturday. He went one better.

“The Grand Prix Final is a place for me to try new things and new elements to give myself an understanding of what is possible especially this year with the Olympics,” Malinin said. “So I decided I wanted to go all out and give myself a foundation of what (my program) could look like.”

Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, who led after the short program, took the silver medal with 302.41 points while his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato was third with 292.08.

Malinin, who hasn’t lost a competition in more than two years, is the two-time and reigning world champion and the three-time Grand Prix Final champion.

He said his win on Saturday is a big confidence boost heading into his Olympic debut in February.

“It gives me a lot of confidence that I am able to go out there and get this done,” Malinin said. “I will take the next two months heading up to the Olympics trying to perfect everything, really work on all my weaknesses and make everything as perfect as it can be.”

In the women’s competition, world champion Alysa Liu finished third in the free skate but it was good enough to allow the American to win the gold medal with an overall score of 222.49 points, a result that gives her confidence heading to the Olympics.

“It does give me confidence in my stamina and consistency,” Liu said. “But a lot of things can happen between now and the Olympics, I still have nationals but I’ll keep training, working on my stamina.”

Teenager Ami Nakai of Japan, who landed a clean triple axel, was second with 220.89 points while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto was third with 218.80.

Sakamoto, who will retire after the Olympics, won the free skate despite singling a double axel.

Liu landed seven triple jumps and a double axel for 146.70 points in the free skate.

Mone Chiba, who led after the short program, fell on a triple loop and a triple salchow to drop to fifth place. Defending GP Final champion Amber Glenn of the United States landed a clean triple axel and moved up to fourth from sixth.

The women’s result further underscores the fact there is no clear favorite for the Olympics.

The International Skating Union has decided to allow Russian skaters to compete in next year’s Olympics as neutrals but only in the men’s and women’s competitions.

Adeliia Petrosian will compete on the women’s side while Petr Gumennik will take part in the men’s event.

In ice dance, Olympic gold medal favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the United States won their third straight Grand Prix Final title with a season’s-best score of 131.68 in the free skate for a total of 220.42.

Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France won the silver medal with 214.25 points while Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain took the bronze with 208.81 points.

Chock and Bates, the three-time reigning world champions, won a record-tying sixth ice dance title at Skate America in November. They also won the Cup of China in the Grand Prix series.

Chock and Bates will be the gold medal favorites at the Olympics.

“There are so many positives that we can bring forward into the second half of the season,” Chock said. “It’s always a treat to compete among the best skaters in the world and we really look forward to progressing in the second half of the season.”

They won the Grand Prix Final in 2023 and 2024.

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AP Winter Olympics at https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics