The ‘Quad God’ has officially reclaimed his throne! ⛸️👑 Six weeks after the heartbreak in Milan, Ilia Malinin just delivered a masterclass in resilience at the 2026 World Championships in Prague.
ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2026: Ilia Malinin takes third straight title at redemption Worlds
The USA figure skater overcame the bad memories of his free skate at Milano Cortina 2026 to win the segment and his third world title. Japan’s Kagiyama Yuma and Sato Shun repeated their Olympic placements, coming from behind to jump onto the podium with stellar skates.
Ilia Malinin finished his campaign for a third straight world title with a roar – in every sense of the word.
Standing on the ice in his finishing pose, the USA figure skater screamed while pumping his fists, the epic journey at his redemption 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships complete – a stark contrast to his pose at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 where he finished the skate covering his face with his hands.
It was also a different Malinin who sat in the kiss-and-cry on Saturday (28 March) to receive his scores: 218.11 points in the free and 329.40 overall. As the words “world champion 2026” flashed on the board behind him, a smile – at first one of relief, and then of joy – spread across his face.
While it was more than 20 points under his personal best from the 2025 Grand Prix Final where he landed a historic seven quads in a single program, what mattered most was that Malinin’s roller-coaster season of historic records, Olympic triumph and heartbreak, ended on a win.
The 21-year-old skater took a more conservative approach at the 2026 Worlds in Prague, Czechia, as compared to his Grand Prix Final heroics in December. Opting for a five-quad program, Malinin focused on executing all elements cleanly and achieved that with the exception of a quarter under-rotation on a quad Lutz.
There was loud applause for the now-three-time world champion and Olympic team gold medallist at the O2 Arena, but Malinin was not the only hero of the night.
Milano Cortina 2026 silver medallist Kagiyama Yuma found his stride again after his disappointing short program on Thursday. No more singled triple Axels or falls, the Japanese skater unleashed his “Turandot” free skate in all its glory, improving on his personal best – set at Beijing 2022 – by nearly four points.
Third at last year’s world championships in Boston, Kagiyama landed 10 jumps, including four quads, to score 212.87 points (306.67 total) and climb from sixth place after the short to a silver medal in front of the loud Czech crowd, a day after compatriot Sakamoto Kaori delivered her winning farewell performance for them.
As the scores were announced, Kagiyama was in shock, covering his mouth and jumping in the kiss-and-cry, with the leader at the time, Kevin Aymoz of France, also visibly moved and applauding him from the leader’s chair.
