"Malinin produced a free program of 218.11 to finish on 329.40 points, comfortably ahead of Japanese rivals Yumi Kagiyama and Shun Sato. Known as the Quad God for his unprecedented jumping arsenal, he once again packed his program with difficulty, landing five quadruple jumps, including a quad toe-triple toe combination followed by a backflip late in the program."
"A month ago in Milan, Malinin had arrived as the overwhelming favorite for gold, only to fall twice and tumble to eighth in one of the biggest upsets in Olympic figure skating history. In the aftermath, he admitted the pressure had consumed him, replaying mistakes 24/7 in the days that followed."
"My expectation was to leave the long program in one piece and I definitely think that happened, Malinin quipped afterwards. The tone was entirely different this time, as he attacked his opening quad flip and quad lutz-triple toe combination with conviction, drawing a roaring response from the crowd."
Ilia Malinin secured his third consecutive world figure skating championship with a strong free skate performance, scoring 218.11 points and finishing with a total of 329.40 points. He entered the final with a significant lead after a personal-best short program. Malinin executed five quadruple jumps, demonstrating both difficulty and composure, contrasting his previous Olympic performance where he fell twice. The support from the crowd fueled his confidence, and he expressed relief at successfully completing the program without errors, marking a significant redemption from his Olympic experience.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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