Above: Ilia Malinin and his coach and father high-five after the skater's record-breaking performance at Skate Canada International. Photo by Getty Images
By Troy Schwindt
Ilia Malinin dominated Skate Canada International on Sunday, winning the event with a world record free skate score. The U.S. earned three medals at the third of six ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series events — a silver in women’s and a bronze in pairs.
The two-time and reigning World champion cleanly landed six quad jumps, three in combination, en route to a free skate score of 228.97. He had held the previous world record free skate score (227.79, 2024 World Championships).
Malinin became the first skater to cleanly land (no deductions) five different quad jumps in a single program. His overall total of 333.81 points is a personal-best score; he finished 76.60 points ahead of the silver medalist.
With the win, Malinin punched his ticket to the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final set for early next month in Japan. Malinin is the two-time and reigning Grand Prix Final champion.
Malinin’s program to “The Ball” by Asaf Avidan, “The Smell of the Sea” by Alan Mayer and “Code Duello” by Power-Haus and Sergiu-Dan Muresan was impeccable both athletically and artistically.
He delivered three of his quads in combination in the second half of the program. Those three jumps combined for a total of 61.38 points. He also received Level 4 credit on two spins.
Malinin’s event-best program components score of 90.48 was 8.52 points better than the next skater.
The Virginia native has now won 12 consecutive competitions dating back to December 2023.
His U.S. teammate Tomoki Hiwatashi placed ninth in the free skate (146.26) and ninth overall with a total score of 230.58. He competed in back-to-back Grand Prix Series events, placing fourth at Cup of China.
In ice dance, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko led the three U.S. teams by placing fourth in the free dance with a score of 114.40 and fourth overall with a total 191.23.
They skated to “Ave Maria païen” by Noa, “Il Est Venu le Temps de Cathédrales” by I Fiamminghi and “La Cours Des Miracles” and “Danse mon Esmeralda” from the "Notre-Dame de Paris” soundtrack.
Program highlights included two Level 4 lifts and a program-high score of 10.67 for their diagonal step sequence.
Their teammates, Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville and Leah Neset and Artem Markelov, finished ninth and 10th, respectively, with overall scores of 166.32 and 165.19.
The U.S. will send another strong contingent of athletes to next weekend’s Grand Prix Series event at NHK Trophy in Japan.
For full results from 2025 Skate Canada International, visit the Grand Prix Central Competition Series on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
In addition, tune in to Rinkside Olympic Season Monday for an in-depth analysis of Skate Canada International and the Grand Prix Series. Host Nick McCarvel will break down highlights from the event, preview next week's Grand Prix stop, interview athletes and more. Watch on the U.S. Figure Skating YouTube channel or listen wherever you get your podcasts Mondays at 12 p.m. ET following each Grand Prix event of the season.
