Photo: Joosep Martinson / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
Ilia Malinin once again proved why he is considered the ultimate closer in figure skating, delivering a clutch performance Sunday night to secure Team USA’s second straight Olympic gold medal in the team figure skating event at the Milan Cortina Games.
The 21-year-old Fairfax County native defeated Japan’s Shun Sato in a decisive head-to-head free skate, breaking a tense deadlock between the two nations in the final session of the competition. Malinin scored 200.03 points after landing five quadruple jumps, helping the United States edge Japan 69–68 for the gold.
Nicknamed the “Quad God,” Malinin rebounded from a rare off night in the short program to deliver when it mattered most. He opened with a powerful quad flip, opted for a safer triple axel instead of a quad, and closed his routine with back-to-back high-difficulty combinations — a quad toe-triple flip and a quad salchow-triple axel — bringing the crowd at the Mediolanum Forum to its feet.
Sato followed with a clean and confident performance of his own, landing three quadruple jumps and earning 194.86 points. Though technically simpler, his program kept Japan within striking distance until the final scores were posted.
The victory marked Malinin’s second consecutive Olympic gold medal in the team event, following Team USA’s triumph at the Beijing Games. Born in Fairfax, Virginia, and raised in Vienna, Malinin represents the United States internationally while carrying a deep skating legacy as the son of former Olympic skaters Roman Skorniakov and Tatiana Malinina, who competed for Uzbekistan.
Team USA entered the final night with a slim five-point advantage over Japan, but that lead evaporated earlier in the evening when Japanese stars Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara won the pairs free skate and Kaori Sakamoto claimed the women’s free skate, pulling Japan into a tie atop the standings.
The Americans stayed alive thanks to a standout performance from pairs skaters Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who delivered the best free skate of their careers when the team needed it most. Kam and O’Shea scored 135.36 points, narrowly beating Canada to avoid dropping a crucial point to the dominant Japanese pair.
In the women’s free skate, Amber Glenn stepped in for world champion Alysa Liu but struggled under the pressure, finishing third in the segment. Sakamoto’s win brought Japan level with the United States heading into the final event — setting the stage for Malinin’s defining moment.
With the weight of the gold medal resting squarely on his shoulders, Malinin delivered.
Italy finished with the bronze medal on home ice with 60 points, while Georgia placed fourth with 56, still searching for its first Winter Olympic medal.
For Malinin — a skater who has redefined the technical limits of the sport — Sunday night was about more than quads or scores. It was about composure, confidence, and carrying a nation across the finish line.
Once again, the best closer in figure skating delivered exactly when Team USA needed him most.
SOURCE: WHSV3