Ilia Malinin made perhaps the toughest jump in figure skating look easy, and the rest of his short program for that matter, and took a commanding lead at the U.S. championships as the 19-year-old star seeks his his second straight title.
The Grand Prix Final champion, performing his “Malagueña” program, opened with an effortless quad toe loop, then landed the quad lutz-triple toe combo before making a triple axel look like a skip across the ice. Malinin was rewarded with 108.57 points to take the biggest lead after a short program under the current scoring system in nationals history.
Upon hearing the scores, Malinin flashed a black and gold towel that read “Quad God” — his all-too-fitting nickname.
Max Naumov, the 2020 junior national champion, was a surprising second after his opening quad salchow helped to make up for a problem on his triple axel. He received 89.72 points in his quest for a podium spot after finishing fourth last year.
As usual, Jason Brown brought down the house in Columbus, Ohio, despite a fall on his opening triple axel. The 29-year-old fan favorite, who skipped most of the season to stay healthy and prepare for nationals, recovered to land a triple flip and triple lutz-triple toe combo while skating with his customary flair to “Adios” by the British composer Benjamin Clementine.
Brown earned 89.02 points as he seeks to become the oldest man on the podium since Todd Eldredge won in 2002.
The U.S. championships continued later Friday, when defending champion Isabeau Levito and Amber Glenn were scheduled to perform their free skates in what was shaping up to be a dual for the title. Levito scored 75.38 points during her short program Thursday night, giving the 16-year-old sensation the lead by four-tenths of a point over her nearest rival.
