Ilia Malinin swept aside his Olympic Games disappointment to deliver a statement short program on Thursday at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 in Prague, Czech Republic.

The two-time and reigning World champion set a near-capacity crowd alight with an electric performance that produced a career-best international score of 111.29 points, 9.44 points ahead of the field. 

"I've thought about the Olympics a lot, and I mainly think about the good points, because there was so much fun at the Olympics," said Malinin, who won gold as part of Team USA in the team event but placed eighth in the individual men's event. "There were a lot of ups and downs. I just take everything in and talk about it."

Performing to "Dies Irae" and "The Lost Crown," Malinin opened with a superb quadruple flip that earned 15.71 points, followed by a triple Axel and quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination worth 21.21 points, by far the highest-scoring element of the event. His spins and steps were also on point, gaining all Level 4s, while his famous highlight moves — a backflip and "raspberry twist" — drove the audience into a near-frenzy.

"I think the main thing I want to stick to now is how I feel inside, how I feel about myself, and if I feel good and I can show that to people then I'm sure they will be able to feel that love and support that I feel for myself," Malinin said of the crowd reaction.

The two other members of the U.S. men's squad in Prague also gave clean performances to clinch personal-best short program scores and finish in the top 10.

Performing to the Scorpions' inspirational "Maybe I Maybe You," Andrew Torgashev hit his opening quad toe loop and triple Axel with ease before reeling off a solid triple flip-triple toe combination. His step sequence, one of the most intricate and expressive of the event, kicked the second half of his program into high gear, and he ended with a Level 4 combination spin.

The two-time and reigning U.S. silver medalist earned 89.07 points, eclipsing his previous international personal best set at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 last month. He placed seventh and, in his third trip to Worlds, is well on his way to his best-ever finish.

Coming off the "high" of the Olympics, Torgashev said, was "the most difficult thing I've ever done — really trying to get myself going again for this competition. It was very difficult. I was even ready not to come, but I thought, 'I will come. I'll do it.' Representing the U.S. team, it's an honor to be here. I have to do it, even if I'm not feeling it."

Once he arrived in Prague, Torgashev said he got right back into competition mode.

"I've done so many hundreds of these programs this season, so my muscle memory was good," he said. "It was a great experience competing under pressure at the Olympics and Nationals. I'm glad the last time I did this short program was good."

The event took an elegant turn when Jacob Sanchez, who claimed the pewter medal at the 2026 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in January and fourth at the ISU Junior World Figure Skating Championships 2026 in February, took the ice for his short, set to the romantic theme from "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg." 

Making his senior Worlds debut, the 18-year-old executed three clean jumping passes — a triple Axel, triple flip and triple Lutz-triple toe combination — and gained Level 4s for his polished spins and steps.

Sanchez's 85.15 points is a new career best, and he enters the free skate in 10th place.

"Just to come here with such short notice; it was just a crazy moment when I got that call to come here," Sanchez, who subbed in for Jason Brown, said. "I was just so excited. I had two days to really prepare for this and for me to come out and do a performance like that that was my best of the season, I'm just so happy I got my best score ever. To do that at my first senior Worlds is just incredible."

Sanchez's goal in Prague goes beyond placement or scores. He simply wants to seize the moment.

"For me, I'm not here to compete, I'm here to skate," he said. "I feel like there is no reason for me to focus on competing when this is such a great experience and opportunity. I want to make the most of it because this is my first Worlds and hopefully the first of many."

In pairs, two-time and reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov climbed from seventh after the short program to fifth in the free skate and sixth overall with a stirring performance to the theme from "Love Story," highlighted by Efimova's elegance and the undeniable on-ice chemistry between the Boston-based skaters.

"We're definitely feeling a lot better today," Mitrofanov said. "I'm proud of Alisa, and I'm proud of us as a team. We came into the free skate with a fresh mind. No, it wasn't easy, especially with what happened yesterday. For us to understand and trust each other, and trust the process, that's all we could ask for, and we're happy that we left everything on the table and finished on a high note."

While Efimova put a hand down on a triple Salchow, done in combination with two double Axels, and fell on a triple toe loop, her refined lift positions and lovely carriage sparkled throughout the program, as did her fine landings on two throw triple jumps. Efimova and Mitrofanov earned 135.22 points in the free skate, just 0.37 points from their international best score, giving them 202.51 overall.

"I wanted to free my mind — I like to refer to my brain as a computer — to give it the ram, the space to operate," Efimova said. "I was just focusing to clear my mind, live through the emotions that were coming because I felt they were a lot on the way. It gave my body the freedom to do what I can do. Still, I feel the rough day yesterday played a role in my confidence today. So, when I was doing the jumps, I wasn't fully sharp and confident checking them out. But overall, I'm happy that I still managed my nerves and got into this day with more freedom in my mind and soul."

Efimova and Mitrofanov, the 2026 Four Continents champions, also placed sixth at the 2025 World Championships.

Performing to Lara Fabian's melodic "Caruso," reigning U.S. bronze medalists Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman had some jump trouble, including McBeath's fall on triple toe loop, but shone in many of their pair moves, including a sterling throw triple loop, an interesting, Level 4 pair spin and their Level 4 Axel lasso lift that was their highest-scoring element at 8.80 points.

They earned 115.18 points for their free and ended with 179.60 total for 12th place. 

"There were some disappointing moments in this program, unfortunately," McBeath said. "It was a fight and it was a little bit of a struggle today, but Daniil and I got through it together, and we'll take what we learned here and move forward from there."

Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, who placed sixth in Wednesday's short program, were unable to find their footing in their free skate to "Unchained Melody." Chan fell three times, including on both triple throws and a death spiral, and the pair dropped to 16th overall with 169.91 points.

"I don't know [what went wrong]," Akira Howe said. "I think that this is obviously not an easy sport and it doesn't matter how well trained you are, mistakes can happen. Even though we got the call [to go to Worlds] on short notice, I didn't feel we were out of shape, I just don't think today was our day."

With today's results, the United States secured two quota positions for pairs at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2027.

Competition continues Friday with the rhythm dance, followed by the women's free skate. The event wraps up Saturday with the men's free skate and free dance.

All events can be streamed live on Peacock and will be available for 72 hours following their conclusion. In addition, NBC and USA Network will broadcast the competition. To view the full TV schedule, visit the U.S. Figure Skating website.For bios, news, results and more, visit the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 Competition Central.