Photo credit Melanie Heaney/U.S. Figure Skating
By Elvin Walker
As Ilia Malinin kicked off his title defense this afternoon at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, his chief rival, Yuma Kagiyama wondered if the self-proclaimed ‘Quad God’ is invincible.
If Malinin’s performance in the short program was any indication, it is quite possible. The 20-year-old took command of the competition with an international personal best 110.41 points, electrifying the Boston audience with technical wizardry that has kept the Virginian undefeated since the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023.
The mark is the highest-ever short program score at the World Championships and the fourth-highest in history.
“I felt really confident on the ice today,” Malinin said. “As the music started playing, I just got into that flow state, and I felt like it just took me where I wanted to take me.”
Skating to “Running” by American rapper NF, Malinin easily checked off an opening quadruple flip before launching a triple Axel that seemed so easy that it almost felt like a transition moment. Malinin’s quadruple Lutz-triple toe loop in the second half of the program earned more than 20 points for the reigning champion, but the crowd favorite was his closing step sequence that was punctuated with his signature raspberry flip.
“I was really excited to hear the crowd cheering me on even before I finished the program,” he said. “It was such a remarkable experience for me.”
Ever the showman, Malinin was coy about his intent to attempt the seven different quadruple jumps in Saturday’s title-deciding free skate. Should the three-time U.S. champion make it happen, he would be the first in history to do so.
“We will see how the next few days will feel to me. I just want to see how tomorrow feels in practice and how my elements and everything will be feeling,” he offered. “And then as for the day of the free program, that's also something that I do is just see how the practice goes, see how the elements feel in general and then when I get on that warmup, that's kind of my last warning to just make sure everything's ready to go. If it doesn't feel the way I want to, then that's when I would make the changes.”
Andrew Torgashev, the reigning U.S. silver medalist, kept Team USA in the hunt for three Olympic berths, finishing in eighth place with best short program of his career. The 23-year-old finished with a new international best 87.27 points, about seven points out of bronze medal position.
“My goal for this competition – and for every competition – is to make all of those run-throughs, soreness, sweat and tears all worth it,” he said. “I was really happy to put out that performance and experience this amazing crowd.”
After fighting to land his opening quadruple toe loop, Torgashev settled into his routine and connected on his triple Axel and triple flip-triple toe loop combination. Performing to “L’Enfer” by Belgium-born musician and sometimes recluse, Stromae. The introspective style of music suited Torgashev’s artistic sensibilities and rewarded the audience with a passionate performance that brought many to their feet.
“I haven’t seen anything like this in the U.S.,” Torgashev said of the crowd response. “I’m just so grateful that I can experience this and put out a great performance for them and for myself. I want to do my best so that I can do it all over again on Saturday.”
Jason Brown returned to competition after sitting out the U.S. Championships in January due to equipment problems. Brown, who is making his seventh appearance at the World Championships, opened his “The Legend of Tarzan” program with a solid triple flip. Up next for the 30-year-old was the triple Axel – a jump that had been missing in action so far this season, which he landed on the quarter.
Unfortunately, Brown doubled the back half of his combination, an intended triple Lutz-triple toe loop combination near the close of the program and had to rely on his program component scores – he had the third highest of the night – to keep him in the mix for a top-10 placement. The 2016 U.S. champion finished with a season’s best 84.72 points.
“It felt great to get out there. I felt like I was attacking,” Brown said. “I felt calm, but it’s a little disappointing to make the mistake on the last jumping element is a little disappointing. I don’t know what happened – maybe I thought I was too close to the boards, or I rushed my timing. I’ll take a look later and see how I can fix it for Saturday.”
In the evening session, the two U.S. pairs teams combined to earn the possibility of a third Olympic berth for the first time in eight Olympic cycles. Reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov moved up three places to finish in sixth overall, joining forces with Grand Prix Finalists Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who finished in seventh. With a combined placement total of 13 points, Team USA has now clinched two quota spots at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and will have the opportunity to earn a third position at the Olympic Qualifying Competition, which will be held in Beijing, China, from Sept. 17-21, 2025. They also earned three quota positions for the World Championships next year.
“It’s bigger than us,” Mitrofanov said. “It’s something that we actually kind of set a little goal in our heads. We knew it was a possibility and that it was something we really wanted to strive for. Whether or not we are one of the teams at the Olympics, we know that we at least did everything that we can for Team USA.”
In just their second season together, Efimova and Mitrofanov are becoming a team to reckon with on the international stage. With a Grand Prix medal already to their credit, a fourth-place free skate tonight in Boston established them as a team on the rise.
“It’s a dream come true,” Efimova said after the competition. “Ever since we knew that Boston would host this event, we dreamed about being able to be here and out two great performances.”
Efimova and Mitrofanov, who live and train in Norwood, Massachusetts, cast a spell over their hometown audience with their passionate “Je suis malade” free skate. Despite a few small errors at the beginning of the program, the duo quickly recovered and created a program that was emotionally authentic and technically sound. They finished with an international best free skate score of 135.59 to finish fourth in the free skate. Their competition total of 199.29 points is a new international personal best by more than seven points.
“It’s a very tight-knit community,” Mitrofanov said of the Boston area. “We ‘re very blessed to represent and train here. We have so many people support us and probably half of the people here tonight are from our skating club. We are very thankful for them, and it means everything to have their support, to be honest.”
Competing in their third consecutive World Championships, Kam and O’Shea rallied to close their “Stand By Me” (Florence + the Machine) performance on a high note after a mid-program fall on a throw triple loop. Like their teammates, the U.S. silver medalists performed with sincerity and closed out the program with two crowd-pleasing lifts for a segment score of 126.77. They finished the competition with 195.38 points, claiming their best result at a World Championships with seventh.
“We overcame a lot this week. I injured my foot pretty good on Saturday before coming here and I went through the process with U.S. Figure Skating medical and was cleared to come,” said O’Shea, who is suffering from bruising and tenderness in his foot. “It’s been an intense journey, but we are very proud of what we put out there today. We had a lot of emotions, but we are most proud of getting the job done this week.”
Competition continues Friday with the rhythm dance and women’s free skate. For full results, how to watch, bios and more, visit the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 Competition Central.
