That was a real demonstration – and impressive. With a record number of points, US figure skater Ilia Malinin has become the new figure skating world champion. The ice dancing title also went to the USA. There were no German starters at the final.
American figure skater Ilia Malinin won the world title with an impressive free skate. The 19-year-old showed six flawless quadruple jumps on Saturday in Montreal, Canada, and was rewarded with a free skate record score and the gold medal. “I’m in shock right now. This means a lot to me,” said the winner of the Grand Prix final, who had struggled with injuries beforehand.
The past few weeks have been a mental and physical challenge for him. He was considering whether he should even travel to Montreal for the World Cup. “When I got on the ice, I didn’t know what was going to happen. I could skate the free skate of my life or it could go totally wrong,” Malinin said.
Almost 24 points ahead of Silver
It didn’t go wrong. In the final score, Malinin was almost 24 points ahead of Yuma Kagiyama from Japan with 333.76 points. Third place went to French European champion Adam Siao Him Fa (294.39), who had finished in an almost hopeless 19th place after a failed short program.
Six quadruple jumps in the freestyle
Malinin once again lived up to his nickname as the “god of quadruple jumps”. Among the jumps, each with four revolutions, there was also the hardest one: the Axel. And the fans at the Bell Center in Montreal went wild as Malinin seemingly effortlessly conjured up one jump after another on the ice – Malinin showed a total of six quadruple jumps. At the end of the program to music from the series “Succession”, the American fell on the ice. It seemed as if he himself couldn’t believe what he had just accomplished.
No German starter in the final
Nikita Starostin (Dortmund) only had to watch the last day of the World Championships from the stands: The 21-year-old only reached 32nd place out of 40 runners in the short program and did not qualify for the final of the best 24.
The competitions of the Figure Skating World Championships at a glance Day Competition In the sports show Wednesday, March 20th Short program for pairs Report Short program for women Report Thursday, March 21st
Men’s short program report
Pairs’ Free Dance Report Friday, March 22nd Rhythm Dance Ice Dancing Report Women’s Free Dance Report Saturday, March 23rd Freestyle Ice Dancing Report Men’s Free Dance Report Sunday, March 24th 7 p.m.: Winners’ Show Skating Video
