Ilia Malinin (USA) wins the Men’s Free Skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Ilia Malinin (USA) jumps to gold
“Quad God” Ilia Malinin (USA) did his nickname justice and jumped to the ISU Grand Prix Final title setting new personal best scores. Japan’s reigning ISU World Champion Shoma Uno and 2022 Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama secured the silver and the bronze in an exciting Men’s Final.
Malinin risked it all in his program to “Succession” which was packed with quadruple jumps. The 2023 ISU World bronze medalist crashed on his opening quad Axel, but then fired off a quad Lutz-triple toe, his first quad loop in competition, quad Salchow and toe, as well as a quad Lutz-Euler-triple Salchow and the triple Lutz-triple Axel sequence.
The American skater, who had landed a quad flip before, is now the first and only Skater in the World to have landed all six types of jumps as quadruples in competition.
The 19-year-old posted a personal best of 207.76 points in the Free Skating and racked up 314.66 points, yet another personal best.
“I'll be honest, after the fall I was quite really disappointed in myself,” said Malinin. “I really wanted to come out here and show that quad Axel to everyone. Even though it didn't happen, I still had to focus on the rest of the program and get through it.
“I was not really sure (if it was enough to win) because I thought that the fall would really take away a lot of the points. I'm pretty surprised with how high the technical score was. It was something that I've never thought I would see. And in that case, with that fall, I think that there's still room for a lot more for the technical score.”
(L-R) Silver medalist Shoma Uno (JPN), gold medalist Ilia Malinin (USA) and bronze Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) © ISU
Uno turned in an excellent performance as well. Skating to “Time Lapse” and “Spiegel im Spiegel”, the two-time ISU World Champion pulled off a quad loop, quad flip (slightly underrotated), a quad toe-triple toe and another quad toe (slightly underrotated) and two triple Axels. He only singled one Axel.
Uno finished a little behind the music and got a deduction for a time violation. The two-time Olympic medalist nevertheless achieved a season's best with 191.32 points and got 297.34 points overall to win the silver, his sixth ISU Grand Prix Final medal.
“I think it was quite strong, but not perfect in some elements. This is the end of the Grand Prix Final and I feel relieved,” Uno shared. “I feel quite happy in this season. I am very excited to compete with the other skaters that are high quality and together we can improve.”
Shoma Uno (JPN) in the Men’s Free Skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
Kagiyama’s musical performance to “Rain, In Your Black Eyes” included a quad toe-Euler-triple Salchow as well as six triple jumps. He only doubled his planned quad Salchow.
Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) in the Men’s Free Skating at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Beijing, China © ISU
The two-time ISU World silver medalist ranked fourth in the Free Skating with 184.93 points but remained in third place at 288.65 points.
“Compared to the Short Program, I felt more nervous today in the Free Skating and I made an error on the quad Salchow. But I was able to come back and do the rest of the program well,” the 20-year-old commented.
“I am taking a lot of motivation from the Grand Prix season and I saw what areas I need to work on for my next events,” he added.
ISU European Champion Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) rallied back from a faulty Short Program and turned in a strong performance to pull up to fourth at 278.28 points. He was third in the Free Skating. Kao Miura (JPN) who had not practiced on Friday or Saturday due to a stomach upset, finished fifth on 261.53 points. Kevin Aymoz (FRA) suffered a painful looking fall on a triple Axel and struggled with the rest of his program to come sixth (219.91 points).
Full results are available here.
Schedule of the event
Friday, December 8: Junior Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Women’s Short Program & Rhythm Dance
Saturday, December 9: Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance, Women’s & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consisted of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN).
A total of 154 Skaters/Couples competed in the series: 46 Men, 43 Women, 29 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2023/24 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
ISU Grand Prix Standings
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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Selection Criteria
For a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
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