Ilia Malinin leads World Championships short program after Olympic heartbreak
Defending two-time champion Ilia Malinin has put his Milan Cortina Olympics disappointment behind him to take a commanding lead in the short program at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague.
The American star delivered a personal-best score of 111.29 at the O2 Arena on Thursday.
He will carry a massive advantage of more than nine points into Saturday’s free skate.
Redemption for the ‘Quad God’
The spectacular routine emphatically signalled that his recent Olympic struggles are firmly in the past.
In one of the biggest upsets in the sport’s history, the gold-medal favourite previously plummeted from first to eighth place after falling twice during a disastrous Olympic free skate.
The skater later admitted he had succumbed to the intense pressure during his debut appearance at the Winter Games.
Returning to the ice with renewed focus in the Czech capital, he opened his routine with a flawless quad flip.
The display also featured a seamless combination of a quad lutz and a triple toe loop.
Opting for a sensible strategic approach, the only competitor to land a competitive quad axel performed a triple version of his trademark jump.
Chasing the podium
French competitor Adam Siao Him Fa secured second place with 101.85 points after nailing a perfect quad toe loop combination.
Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia delivered a surprise third-place finish by achieving a personal-best score of 96.49.
Japanese Olympic bronze medallist Shun Sato currently sits in fourth position.
Meanwhile, his compatriot and pre-event favourite Yuma Kagiyama suffered a costly fall during a lutz attempt.
Notable absences and American hopefuls
United States representative Andrew Torgashev finished the opening day in seventh place.
Fellow American Jacob Sanchez claimed 10th position in what is his senior worlds debut.
Newly crowned Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan has chosen to skip this week’s tournament.
The pairs free skate event is scheduled to conclude later on Thursday evening.
