Above: Ilia Malinin performs his short program at Grand Prix de France. Photo by Getty Images
By Troy Schwindt
Ilia Malinin breezed to the top of the short program leaderboard at Grand Prix de France in Angers, France, on Saturday, posting a score of 105.22.
His lead is more than nine points higher than the second-place competitor. The two-time and reigning World champion will look to win his 11th consecutive competition dating back to Nov. 5, 2023, when he placed second at Grand Prix de France.
Malinin, who has clinched two Grand Prix title golds during his winning streak, delivered a clean program to the music “Dies Irae” by Náttúra featuring Vila and “The Lost Crown” by 2WEI, Josnez and Kataem. Malinin landed two quads — a flip and a Lutz-triple toe loop combination — within the first four elements of his program. He also earned positive grades of execution on all seven elements and recorded the highest program components score as well.
Max Naumov, the three-time and reigning U.S. pewter medalist, earned a short program score of 75.27. Skating to “Nocturne No. 20” by Frédéric Chopin, Naumov placed ninth in the segment.
Andrew Torgashev, who claimed his first and only Grand Prix medal at Grand Prix de France last year, finished 12th with a score of 71.52.
In the women’s event, Isabeau Levito, finished fourth in the free skate to place just off the podium.
The 2024 World silver medalist and winner of five Grand Prix medals experienced difficulties on her opening triple flip-triple toe loop combination but recovered to skate a clean program the rest of the way to “Cinema Paradiso” by Ennio Morricone, tallying 139.34.
Program highlights included a triple flip-double Axel sequence in the second half of the program followed by a triple loop-double toe loop-double toe loop combination that generated a combined 20.65 points. She also received Level 4s for two spins and her step sequence. She secured a two-day total of 212.71.
Levito, fourth in the World last season, caps her Grand Prix season in two weeks at Skate Canada International.
Elyce Lin-Gracey finished ninth in the free skate, performing to music from the movie Gladiator. The 2025 World Junior bronze medalist opened with a triple Lutz-triple toe loop worth a program-high 11.28 points. She finished with a segment score of 112.77 and an overall total of 172.07 for eighth place in the final standings.
Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman, the reigning U.S. silver medalists in pairs, finished fourth in the free skate with a score of 114.77 and fourth overall at 178.08, their best-ever placement at a Grand Prix.
They performed to “Caruso” by Lara Fabian. Their program included three Level 4 lifts and a Level 3 opening triple twist.
They stay on the road for another week as they will compete in back-to-back Grand Prix events, traveling to Cup of China next week.
Audrey Shin and Balazs Nagy earned a free skate score of 111.51 to claim fifth place in the segment. They also secured an international personal best overall mark of 173.30 to finish fifth overall at their first Grand Prix event as partners.
Skating to “Two Men in Love” by The Irrepressibles, Shin and Nagy struggled with their early jumping passes but received a Level 4 on their reverse lasso lift, their highest-scoring element at 8.30 points.
The ice dance teams of Eva Pate and Logan Bye and Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in the rhythm dance event.
Pate and Bye, performing to music from 1990s heavy metal bands, received Level 4s for their sequential twizzles and rotational lift. They posted a score of 71.32.
Pate and Bye arrived having won gold at Lombardia Trophy earlier this fall and are competing at Grand Prix de France for the third time.
Bratti and Somerville, who earned the bronze medal at 2024 Grand Prix de France, channeled Madonna as part of their rhythm dance performance, notching a score of 65.09.
The 2024 World Team members earned a Level 4 designation for their sequential twizzles.
The competition concludes on Sunday with the free dance and men’s free skate.
For full results, visit the Grand Prix Central Competition Series on the U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone.
