Ilia Malinin answers Olympic collapse with commanding World title

USA’s Ilia Malinin claimed his third consecutive World title in the Men’s event after an Olympic disaster on Saturday in Prague, Czechia, on Saturday. Yuma Kagiyama of Japan rose from sixth place to capture his fourth silver medal, while teammate Shun Sato pocketed his first world medal—the bronze.

Notably missing was Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ), the 2026 Olympic gold medalist, who is taking a break. Junhwan Cha (KOR) also sat out the event due to an ankle injury.

Ilia Malinin

Short Program

Malinin delivered a compelling short program set to “Dies Irae” and “The Lost Crown,” capturing first place with a new personal best score of 111.29. He confidently reeled off a quad flip, triple Axel, and quad Lutz–triple toe combination. All spins and footwork were graded a level four, and the two-time World champion received positive grades of execution (GOE) throughout—particularly on the quad flip and footwork.

“It felt really great just being out there,” said Malinin. “That’s one thing that I really wanted—to enjoy. I had no expectations coming into the event. I simply wanted to go. Honestly, defending the title doesn’t mean so much. I think now I finally realized that over these last few years I’ve done so much for this sport, and now it’s truly my time to go my own way, just be myself and do whatever I want to do.”

After a dismal and unexpected placement at the Olympic Games, Malinin stressed that he didn’t put too many expectations on himself in Prague.

“Of course, I do think a lot about what happened, but I also think about the good parts because there was so much fun at the Olympics,” he said. “Honestly, it was such an unreal experience that I think I will never ever live something like that again. We will see what happens. Anyways there were a lot of ups and downs, so I just took everything in.”

Free Skate

Back in form, Malinin delivered a near-solid free skate with his introspective routine to “A Voice.” He landed a total of four clean quad jumps, including a flip, Lutz, toe and Salchow. A fifth quad, in combination with a Euler-triple Salchow, was slightly underrotated. The triple Axel was smooth, and he also picked up a level four on all three spins. The skater earned high many positive GOEs throughout, and scored 218.11 for first place, and 329.40 total, leaving the field behind by nearly 23 points.

Malinin later said he decided not to go for the quad Axel or quad loop as he wanted to “relax and enjoy” the last competition of the season.

“I’m really relieved that this season is finally done after really long ups and downs the whole season,” he said. “I’m very glad to be here at the World Championships and it was a different change of mindset to come here.”

When comparing this win to his previous World titles, the 21-year-old felt this Worlds was the easiest.

“The amount of pressure that I had at the Olympics going into here, I felt like it was almost no pressure at all,” said Malinin. “I just completely blocked out all the expectations, all the pressure that people put on me. I [wanted] to enjoy every moment at these World Championships, and I think I did exactly that. Of course, that’s part why I love this sport so much and why I love to watch it. So watching everyone else skate and really just having that relief of the season being over. That really pushed me to also have the same mindset going into the program today. To get over it and fight for everything, and so this is what I did.”

The three-time Grand Prix Final champion will now tour with Stars on Ice.

“I will be joining Shun and Yuma for the next two weeks,” said Malinin. “I feel like it’s going to be fun for all three of us and all the other skaters from all around the world. It’s a really nice environment and I really appreciate the end of the season; starting what I call the show season. I’m really enjoying this and drawing why I love the sport so much and not having any expectation on what I do out there.”

Yuma Kagiyama

Short Program

Kagiyama had a strong start in his crowd-pleasing short program to “I Wish.” The two time and current Olympic silver medalist landed a solid quad toe-triple toe, followed by a quad Salchow, but hit a rut and took a hard fall on an attempted triple Axel. It was very costly (at least 10 points), but the spins and footwork were graded a level four. While the skater picked up very high GOE throughout and had the second highest component scores, he found himself in sixth place (93.80) heading into the free skate.

“Compared to the Olympics, the feeling of competition was stronger,” said the 22-year-old. “It wasn’t just my own battle, since the spots are on the line too, and with it being the last event of the season, I really wanted to deliver. I think all of that made me a little stiff, just slightly.”

“To be honest, until I left the hotel today, I didn’t really feel the mood of competition at all,” he added. “The Olympics were such a big peak, it took some time to switch my mindset for Worlds. But when there are many people like Adam, Ilia, and Shun delivering good performances, it naturally motivates me.”

Free Skate

Skating to Christopher Tin’s Turandot Finale, Kagiyama performed the best free skate of his career, earning a new personal best of 212.87 for second place in this segment. He earned the highest program component scores of the field, racking up high GOEs throughout. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist landed a solid quad Salchow, quad toe-triple toe, and quad toe, along with four more clean triple jumps. All spins and footwork were graded a level four, and he posted a total score of 306.67 for second place overall.

“I came into these World Championships not really thinking too much about the scores and rankings,” said Kagiyama. “I wanted to put the disappointment from the Olympic behind, so I’m very, very happy that I was able to skate for myself. It’s more mental what I will be taking away from these World Championships.”

The skater from Nagoya is looking forward to touring with Stars on Ice.

“The whole next month will actually be pretty busy with things related to skating,” he pointed out. “So, once it is over, I would like to go somewhere where I don’t have to think about skating or bring my skates on the trip.”

When he’s away from the rink, he tries not to think about skating at all.

“I do a lot of things to relax, play games, for example,” said Kagiyama. “But as far as on the ice, obviously the schedule is pretty tough. But being able to have the opportunity to skate with other top skaters is also a really great joy to me.”

Incidentally, Kagiyama’s father also competed in Prague.

“Actually, I have no idea what kind of events my father took part in,” the skater admitted. “I was like, ‘Wow!’ But I have not watched the footage of him participating in the World Championships.”

Shun Sato

Short Program

Sato landed his opening quad Lutz on the quarter, but came back with a solid quad toe-triple toe in his short to “Fantasy for Violin and Orchestra.” The 2026 Olympic bronze medalist lost a level on his footwork which was graded a level three, but all three spins received a level four. He placed fourth (95.84) in this segment.

Still, the skater showed a fist pump at the end.

“It’s not the kind of performance where I would do one, but since I had struggled quite a lot up to this point, I felt really glad I was able to get all my jumps out, and it came out instinctively,” he said.

The skater from Saitama said there was no pressure skating last. In fact, he thought it was good.

“Being last allows me to just go for it, or rather perform without getting nervous, as strange as it is,” said Sato. “So, it was really the order I wanted, and I was able to finish in a good way at the end, so I feel very glad.”

“I’m really happy that I was able to finish this Short Program without any major mistakes,” he added. “Also, my spins, steps, and levels were better than at the Olympics, so I think that was good.”

Free Skate

The two-time Four Continents medalist placed third with 192.70 points for his solid skate to The Firebird. He landed a solid quad Lutz, quad toe-triple toe, and quad toe as well as five clean triple jumps. His dramatic routine also featured a three level-four spins, but the footwork was deemed a level three. With a total score of 288.54, he rose from fourth to third place overall.

“I’m really happy that I was able to finish in good form at the very end,” said the 22-year-old. “Throughout this season, I continued to deliver many clean performances. I strongly wanted to have a performance without any mistakes at the end, as well. I’m really happy that I was able to achieve that.”

Sato, who rates his current condition at 90 out of 100 percent, felt that his consistent short program played a large factor.

“I was able to gradually improve my condition, from yesterday to today,” said the 2024-25 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist. “My condition was very good today in both the official practice and the six-minute warm-up. So I think I was able to carry that into the final performance.”

Stephen Gogolev

Short Program

Stephen Gogolev of Canada gave a solid performance in the short program, landing a quad toe-triple toe, quad Salchow and triple Axel. All spins and footwork were graded a level four in his routine to “Mugzy’s Move,” and the national champ served up a new personal best score of 94.38 for fifth place.

“I feel great,” said the 21-year-old. ” I was pretty comfortable and was able to perform the way I wanted to.”

Gogolev chalked up his consistency to mainly being healthy this year.

“No significant injuries that hold me back,” he said. “Obviously, working hard and consistently training every day. Also, I began working quite close with Benoit [Richaud]. These are the biggest factors.”

Free Skate

Skating to “Piano Concerto No. 2” by Rachmaninov, Gogolev landed a strong quad Salchow and quad toe, but hung on to a quad Salchow-triple toe. He went on to land six triple jumps while displaying level-four spins and footwork throughout. The 2025 Finlandia Trophy bronze medalist earned a new personal best for both his free skate and total score (186.66/281.04), climbing one spot to fourth place overall.

“Today, skating after Yuma was a bit crazy!” said Gogolev. “The crowd was so loud I had to cover my ears. During the six-minute warm-up, I was a little out of it. Benoît (Richaud) even had to tell me to get out on the ice because I was lost when Yuma was already exiting the ice.”

The national champ said his experience at this event overall was “amazing.”

“I’m really, really happy about this season,” said Gogolov. “One highlight was the free program at the Olympic Games, placing in the top five. Another highlight is obviously these World Championships—my first Worlds—and setting a personal best was very special.”

After he goes on vacation, he’ll attend Richaud’s summer camp to prepare for next season. He plans on creating two new programs with the choreographer.

Adam Siao Him Fa

Short Program

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa reeled off a quad toe-triple toe, triple Axel and quad Salchow in his clever and intricate short program. The 2024 World bronze medalist racked up positive GOEs throughout his routine to “La Terre vue du ciel” while earning a level four on all three spins and footwork. He finished second in this segment with 101.85 points.

“It was very fun,” said the two-time European champion. “I really could enjoy the whole program. I was very stressed before they called me, but everything went well. The goal for me at this event is really just to try to let myself go and enjoy as much as I can.”

The two-time French national champion admitted that the time after the Olympics was difficult mentally.

“I didn’t sleep for quite a while, of course, because of the disappointment of the free skate,” he said. “So right after the Olympics, it wasn’t easy, but I also didn’t have that much time. I went to shows, and the fact that I was performing in a different way than in competitions and could also train there was very good for me. I actually felt that I was really missing competing. Just before I came here, I felt like I hadn’t competed in like four months, so I’m really excited to be here.”

Free Skate

Siao Him Fa struggled in his free skate to the second part of his “Creation of Adam” routine. The opening quad toe was solid, but he underrotated and took a fall on the quad Lutz. He also stepped out of triple Axel-double Axel sequence as well as a solo triple Axel. Still, the spins and footwork were remarkable and were all graded a level four with high GOEs. The seven-time Grand Prix medalist placed eighth (169.71) in this segment and slipped off the podium to fifth overall (271.56).

“I’m disappointed,” said the 25-year-old. “Once again, I messed up the Free Skate, the Lutz. It’s more of a mental thing. But it’s different from the Olympics. I made so many stupid mistakes. I was in good shape. We have a lot of work to do. I can do it all during practices, but it’s not enough. I have to be able to perform it during competitions.”

“Right now, I just want to go on vacation,” said the skater. “I need to recharge my batteries. After that I will come back motivated and work at 300%.”

Aleksandr Selevko

Short Program

Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia charmed the crowd in Prague with his entertaining short program to “Kiss” by Prince. The 2024 European silver medalist had a great skate, landing a solid quad toe, triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe. He also picked up a level four on all spins and footwork, earning a new personal best score of 96.49 for third place.

“I was nervous and now am extremely happy that this best skate happened at the end of this season,” said the 24-year-old.  “Honestly, the first two weeks after the Olympic Games I didn’t plan to come to the Worlds. Maybe no expectations helped me to skate like that. I was in good physical shape the whole time but couldn’t deal with nerves and now everything worked out.”

Free Skate

Selevko took a fall on an underrotated quad Lutz in the opening of his routine to music by Nico Cartosio. He came back with a quad toe and triple Axel-double toe, but the solo triple Axel was landed on the quarter. He also received an edge call on both triple flips, but the footwork and spins were deemed a level four. Still, he scored a new personal best of 173.93 points for sixth place in this segment. With a total score of 270.92, another personal best, the 2025 Skate Canada International silver medalist fell to sixth place overall.

“I am really, really happy with my performance today,” said Selevko. “Even if I wouldn’t be in the top 8 or top 10, I would still be really happy because I delivered really good programs. Especially the short, and I’m really proud. I’m also proud of the free skate—it was not perfect, but good, risky, and I recovered from the mistake at the beginning. I just told myself the Lutz can happen or not, but I have to skate the rest of the program. I’m very confident in my other elements, so I was really happy that I did the rest clean.”

Like other skaters, the Estonian is happy that season is over.

“It was such a long, hard, and stressful season, and I’ve been waiting for a good rest,” said Selevko. “I will stay a little longer in Prague and enjoy the city because I didn’t have much time to walk around. After that, I would like to go somewhere with a warm ocean, just to rest and then be ready for the next competitions.”

With his placement, Selevko earned two World spots for Estonia next year.

“Obviously, it would have been cool to get the two spots last season,” he said. “That’s what we were hoping for, but I’m really happy that I could secure them now. I haven’t heard from my brother yet, only from my coaches, but I’m looking forward to catching up with everyone.”

Kevin Aymoz

Short Program

Kevin Aymoz of France sat in 11th place (84.74) after the short program after fighting for the landing of a quad toe and triple Lutz. However, he engaged the crowd with his energetic performance to “Le Lac” and “Judas,” while earning a level four on all three spins.

The 28-year-old said he was still happy as he had battled a stomach flu for 10 days.

“I could not eat, and I lost 5 kilos,” said Aymoz. “That was very difficult. I only had about last week to prepare, so it was all really scary. But it’s Worlds after the Olympic season, so I knew a lot of people were withdrawing. I thought, ‘You know what? I’m just going to go and have fun skating.’ I’ve had nine months of preparation in my legs, and I really wanted to skate the ‘Lady Gaga’ and ‘Bolero’ programs one more time.”

Free Skate

Aymoz rebounded with a personal best free skate to Boléro, landing a quad toe-triple toe along with six triple jumps. He took a fall on a quad toe and received an edge call on a triple flip, but displayed excellent spins and footwork throughout. He placed fifth in this segment, moving up four spots to seventh place overall (184.39/269.13). With this finish, he helped secure three spots for France next year at Worlds.

“I was really happy after finishing my performance; it was really, really nice,” said Aymoz. “I woke up this morning feeling relieved to be on the last day and to watch everyone else. It felt a little like the last day of school when you’re really young—a day where you just play with friends. Today, I went out to play on the ice, and it was really nice.”

The eight-time Grand Prix medalist acknowledged there was still a lot of pressure at this event.

“But right before I skated, the music made me so happy—it was fun to show my ‘Bolero’ one last time,” said Aymoz. “It’s really special for me because so many skaters have heard and skated to it, but this is my version.”

The seven-time French champion found himself in the leader chair for a “long time.”

“Obviously I wanted to stay,” he said. “Seeing Yuma skate was mesmerizing; so beautiful! I saw amazing performances from everyone, and it was really nice.”

His plans are to take a vacation, do some shows, and choreograph programs for skaters.

“I’ll work on my own new programs, and then I’ll see everyone next year at the Grand Prix,” he summed up.

Rounding out the top 10

Daniel Grassl of Italy finished eighth overall (254.94). It was the fifth appearance at this event for the 2022 European silver medalist.

“I will take a three-day vacation in Lisbon, and then I have something really exciting coming up,” said Grassl. “On the 9th of April I’ll be meeting the Pope! A couple of Italian athletes, some of the medalists will be invited to the Vatican. I’m so excited about that! I was also told that he actually watched my performance. He’s very athletic himself, really into sports, used to play tennis when he was younger. I heard he’s writing a book about the Olympics.”

Afterwards, Grassl will return to Boston to train and create two new programs for next season.

Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland earned a new season’s best total score of 251.90 for ninth place, securing a second spot for Worlds next year.

“I don’t really know yet what that means to me,” he said of the score. “Maybe next season I can approach things a bit more relaxed. This season had quite a lot of pressure, and I hope I can take some of that pressure away next season. I’m really looking forward to the home Europeans in Lausanne.”

“The crowd here is something else,” Britschgi added. “I don’t know what’s going on with them, but they definitely had some good drinks before,” joked Britschgi. “They were going crazy!”

He now plans to take a “big” vacation.

“I’m going to the Philippines for four weeks,” he revealed. “I heard though that it’s the first country to declare a national energy emergency, so maybe I’ll be forced to stay longer than four weeks.”

USA’s Andrew Torgashev rounded out the top 10 men with 249.41 points. His placement helped secure three spots for US men next year at this event.

“Last year in Boston, I felt enormous pressure to get spots for the Olympics, and it crushed me,” admitted the 24-year-old. “Knowing now that I can be a good team player, just solid and reliable, without having to be spectacular, is a great feeling.”

“To skate another four years, I need to level up,” noted the2026 U.S. national silver medalist. “I don’t see the point of continuing if I can’t add more quads. I’ve already achieved my childhood goals. So, we’ll go home, start training, and I hope it clicks because I want to fight for these medals and improve my content.”

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