‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin’s Free Skate Clinches Gold For Team USA Figure skating

After a surprisingly shaky short program that saw Ilia Malinin finish second, the "Quad God" lived up to his name, rebounding with a near-flawless free skate to propel Team USA to a gold medal victory in the Figure skating team event. Honestly, after his short program, I wasn’t sure if they could pull it off. He looked unusually nervous.

Malinin's Quad Magic! Team USA Skates to Gold – Bu...

Heading into Sunday's men's long program, Team USA and Team Japan were locked in a tight battle for gold, both sitting pretty with 59 points. This followed a somewhat surprising third-place finish by three-time U.S. national champion Amber Glenn. She landed behind Japan's Kaori Sakamoto and Georgia's Anastasiia Gubanova. Despite a few unsteady landings, Glenn fought hard, landing her triple axel – the only woman to even attempt that challenging jump in the entire team competition. That kind of grit is what these team events are all about.

Malinin, perhaps wisely, opted against his signature quad axel, a jump still unmatched in men's figure skating. But his incredibly strong technical base score more than made up for it, outshining Japan's Shun Sato's planned elements. (He did repeat his backflip from his short program, this time landing single-legged – a bit of showmanship never hurts!) While Sato delivered a solid performance, his less complex jumps just couldn't compete with the 21-year-old American's overall package. Malinin soared past the 200-point mark, adding a crucial 10 points to Team USA's total, even though it fell a bit short of his personal best of over 228. Still, a clutch performance when it counted most.

Japan ultimately secured silver with 68 points, a respectable finish, while Team Italy claimed bronze with 60. Sato visibly expressed his disappointment with the second-place finish, despite achieving a personal best score of 194.86 (eclipsing his previous record of 194.02). You could see the frustration on his face, but his teammates, including Sakamoto, men's short program winner Yuma Kagiyama (who, it should be noted, *did* outperform Malinin with an exceptional skate), and pairs favorites Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, rallied around him, praising his steadfast performance. Class act, all around.

Later, skaters from Team USA and Team Japan were seen exchanging handshakes, congratulations, and some friendly conversation beyond the kiss-and-cry area. It’s always nice to see that level of camaraderie, even amidst the fierce competition.

The home crowd also had plenty to cheer about, as Italian Matteo Rizzo's emotional skate to an Interstellar medley really ignited the arena. He marked the occasion with fist pumps, cheers, and even a knee-slide off the ice, as the crowd and his teammates erupted in triumph. You could feel the energy in the building at that moment.

The team event, a relatively new addition to the Olympic program, having debuted at the 2014 Sochi Games, saw Team USA repeat as champions, while Team Japan repeated as silver medalists (Sakamoto, Kagiyama, and Miura/Kihara were also part of the second-place team in 2022). So, some familiar faces on that podium.

Figure skating enthusiasts can look forward to the ice dancing qualifiers tomorrow morning, where U.S. team Madison Chock and Evan Bates are heavily favored to contend for gold. Stay tuned!