Ilia Malinin wins third straight world figure skating title after Olympic collapse
Consensus Summary
Ilia Malinin secured his third consecutive world figure skating championship in Prague after a dramatic redemption arc following his shocking Olympic collapse in Milan. Entering the final with a commanding lead after a personal-best short program score of 111.29, Malinin executed a flawless free skate with five quadruple jumps, including a quad toe-triple toe combination and a backflip, to finish with 329.40 points. His performance contrasted sharply with his disastrous Olympic free skate, where pressure and mental distress led to two falls and a drop from first to eighth place. Malininâs composure and crowd support were pivotal in his victory, as he credited fans for helping him overcome the trauma of his Olympic failure. While Japanese skater Yumi Kagiyama finished second with a personal-best free skate, Malinin became the first man since Nathan Chen to win three straight world titles, solidifying his dominance in the sport.
â Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Ilia Malinin won the 2024 world figure skating championship on Saturday in Pragueâs O2 Arena with a total score of 329.40
- Malininâs short program score was a personal best of 111.29, putting him over nine points ahead of the field after Thursdayâs session
- Malininâs free skate score was 218.11, finishing ahead of Yumi Kagiyama (306.67 total) and Shun Sato (288.54 total)
- Malinin landed five quadruple jumps in his free program, including a quad toe-triple toe combination and a backflip
- Malinin placed eighth in the Olympic free skate in Milan after falling twice, a major upset from his favored position
- Mikhail Shaidorov skipped the 2024 world championships
- Ilia Malinin is the first man since Nathan Chen to win three straight world titles (2018, 2019, 2021 after cancellation)
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Malininâs free skate was described as âas much about composure as contentâ with âno unravelingâ like his Olympic performance
- Malinin said he âleft the long program in one pieceâ and felt âpushed and loved from the crowdâ throughout
- Kagiyama surpassed his personal-best free skate score (206.67) to finish second
- Stephen Gogolev placed fourth (281.04) ahead of Adam Siao Him Fa (271.56) who fell on a quad
- Aleksandr Selevko dropped from bronze after the short to sixth place (270.42)
- Andrew Torgashev and Jacob Sanchez placed 10th and 12th respectively
- Malinin mentioned âreplaying mistakes 24/7â after the Olympic collapse and credited crowd support for his redemption
- Malininâs program included a quad flip and quad lutz-triple toe combination in the short program
- Malininâs Olympic free skate was nearly 23 points ahead of the next best score
- Malininâs new haircut was noted as a visual change from his Olympic appearance
- French skater Adam Siao Him Fa landed a perfect quad toe loop in combination with a triple toe loop plus a quad salchow for 101.85 in the short program
- Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia scored a personal best 96.49 in the short program to place third
- Malininâs five-point lead over Kagiyama and Siao Him Fa after the short program was described as insurmountable
- Malinin admitted to being overwhelmed by pressure at the Olympics, saying âthe nerves just went, so overwhelmingâ and ânegative thoughts flooded into thereâ
- Malinin helped the US win team gold at the Olympics and was the âoverwhelming favoriteâ for individual gold
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- Article 1 states Malininâs free skate score was 218.11, but Article 2 does not provide this specific number
- Article 1 reports Kagiyamaâs total score as 306.67, while Article 2 does not mention Kagiyamaâs total score
- Article 1 describes Malininâs short program as including a quad flip and quad lutz-triple toe combination, but Article 2 only mentions the quad flip and quad lutz-triple toe combination without specifying the flip
- Article 1 states Malininâs Olympic free skate was nearly 23 points ahead of the next best score, while Article 2 does not provide this specific detail
- Article 1 mentions Malininâs program included a backflip late in the free skate, but Article 2 does not mention this detail
Source Articles
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