American figure skater Ilia Malinin made history at the World Championships in Boston by landing a record-tying six quadruple jumps in his free skate performance, securing a repeat world title and capping off an undefeated season. With a total of 318.56 points, Malinin comfortably won the championship by a margin of 31.09 points over Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. This victory marks Malinin’s ninth consecutive win since December 2023.
The 2025 World Figure Skating Championships also saw Yuma Kagiyama of Japan claim the bronze medal, while Americans Jason Brown and Andrew Torgashev finished in eighth and 22nd place, respectively. The United States secured the maximum three men’s quota spots for the 2026 Olympics and has the opportunity to send a full team of three entries in all four figure skating disciplines for the first time since 1984 if they earn a third pairs’ spot at a last-chance qualifier in September.
Malinin’s impressive performance included landing all six types of quadruple jumps in one program without any under-rotations, a feat that had never been accomplished before. While he missed his goal of landing seven quads in one program, Malinin expressed both excitement for repeating as world champion and disappointment for falling short of his ultimate goal.
As the son of former Uzbek skaters, Malinin is on track to make his Olympic debut next February. His exceptional skills and groundbreaking performances have solidified him as the future of U.S. figure skating, following in the footsteps of American champions who have gone on to win Olympic gold. With the figure skating season concluding at the World Team Trophy in April, Malinin’s success is a testament to his talent and dedication to the sport.
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