'Quad God' Malinin makes successful return after Olympic heartbreak

Mar 27, 2026

Sports
'Quad God' Malinin makes successful return after Olympic heartbreak

Prague [Czech Republic], March 27: 'Quad God' Ilia Malinin made a redemptive return to competitive figure skating as he set a new personal best score of 111.29 in the men's short program at the World Championships in Prague on Thursday. Hot favourite Malinin saw his hopes of Olympic gold crumble in Milan in February after an eorr-strewn free skate that sent him plunging from first to eighth place in the the final standings. But Malinin landed a near-perfect quad lutz as he launched his bid to claim a hat-trick of world titles after his previous victories in 2024 and 2025. With Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov absent, Malinin leads the standings going into the weekend's concluding free skate, with Adam Siao Him Fa of France in second place, and Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko in third.
Source: Qatar Tribune