Ilia Malinin Dominates Grand Prix de France, Shows Room for Improvement Ahead of Winter Olympics
ANGERS, France (AP) — Ilia Malinin demonstrated just how far ahead he is of his figure skating rivals ahead of the Winter Olympics, yet he says he still has “a lot more” room to improve.
The world champion from the United States swept to victory at the opening Grand Prix of the season by an almost-unheard-of 40-point margin. Known as the “Quad God,” Malinin landed five quadruple jumps in his free skate. A slight under-rotation on one jump was the only obvious flaw, but he believes he can do much more.
“I think I’ll be improving a lot more,” Malinin said. “I think I can take away a lot from this competition. It was such fun and I’m really looking forward to the future season.”
Malinin extended his unbeaten streak to nearly two years since he was last beaten by Adam Siao Him Fa at the same event, the Grand Prix de France, in November 2023. Malinin’s total score of 321 points on Sunday was far ahead of Siao’s 280.95, who finished second.
Despite the large gap, there was some encouragement for Siao, who recovered from fifth place after the short program. However, extending his streak of three consecutive wins at his home Grand Prix never seemed likely.
Georgia’s Nika Egadze finished a distant third with 259.41 points, while European champion Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland was fourth, trailing by an additional 10 points. Japan’s Kao Miura came into the free skate in third place but plummeted to 10th after two falls, and his compatriot Tatsuya Tsuboi dropped from fourth to seventh.
New Pair Wins Ice Dance
In ice dance, France’s Olympic champion Guillaume Cizeron and his new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry won their first Grand Prix competition together. They moved up from third place after Saturday’s rhythm dance to take the title.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron scored a total of 211.02 points, edging out overnight leaders Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain, who settled for second with 210.24 points. Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius finished third with 201.05 points.
“It’s really heartwarming to be at home with this amazing crowd and this amazing partner,” Cizeron said. “We were really looking forward to doing our debut here and it couldn’t have gone better.”
The Grand Prix de France is the first of six regular-season Grand Prix events leading to a final in December. It is a key test for skaters aiming for medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
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