Additional Coverage:
Milano, Italy – February 10, 2026 – American figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin, known as the “Quad God,” delivered a commanding performance in the men’s singles short program Tuesday night in Milano, securing a dominant first-place position heading into Friday’s free skate. The two-time world champion’s near-flawless routine at the Milano Ice Skating Arena left spectators in awe and cemented his status as a top contender for Olympic gold.
Malinin, 21, captivated the audience with one of the most technically demanding short programs in the field. Skating to the dramatic strains of The Lost Crown, he flawlessly executed a quad flip, a triple Axel, and a quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination.
Adding a unique flourish, Malinin also incorporated a backflip into his routine – a move permitted in competition for the first time in 2024. While the backflip does not contribute to his score, it notably set the tone for his innovative performance, building on his historic legal backflip during the team event short program.
His exceptional skate earned him a score of 108.16, placing him nearly five points ahead of his closest competitors. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama sits in second with 103.07 points, followed closely by France’s Adam Siao Him Fa in third with 102.55.
Other American skaters also competed, with Andrew Torgashev finishing the short program in eighth place with a score of 88.94, and Maxim Naumov in 14th with 85.65 points. A total of twenty-four male skaters participated in Tuesday night’s event.
This stellar performance marks Malinin’s third appearance at this Olympics, having already secured his first Olympic gold medal on Sunday in the men’s team event.
Following his commanding skate, Malinin expressed a sense of comfort and control to reporters, a stark contrast to his earlier Olympic outings. “I definitely wanted to take a different approach as opposed to the team event, where I think I just went out there and feeling that Olympic atmosphere really just blew me away and I got, maybe, a little too excited,” he explained. “This time, I wanted to be really calm, really nice approach, let it on autopilot.”
The highly anticipated free skate portion of the men’s singles competition is scheduled for Friday, where Malinin will aim to convert his significant lead into another Olympic triumph.