Yuma Kagiyama trailed Ilia Malinin by just three points after the short program and was in with a chance at his first world title in Boston on Saturday, March 29. However, the steady Japanese star, who has always been reliable under pressure, came undone in his free skate and was lucky to make the podium at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships after a calamitous outing.
The 20-year-old Malinin won his second straight world crown with a total score of 318.56 points. Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, one of the revelations of the season, took the silver medal at 287.47, while Kagiyama settled for the bronze with 278.19.
France's Adam Siao Him Fa finished fourth with 275.48. Shun Sato wound up in sixth at 270.56. Japan's third skater, Tatsuya Tsuboi, was 21st on 216.26.
Malinin's triumph, along with Alysia Liu's victory on Friday, gave the United States a sweep of the singles titles at the worlds for the first time since 1996, when Todd Eldredge and Michelle Kwan both won gold in Edmonton, Canada.
An Unbeaten Season for Ilia Malinin
The win completed an unbeaten season for Malinin, the prohibitive favorite to capture the gold at the 2026 Olympics. He attempted an ambitious program of seven quadruple jumps in his skate to "I'm Not a Vampire," landing four of them cleanly. Two others were judged a quarter rotation short, while he doubled a planned quad lutz.
Malinin notched level fours on all of his spins and a level three on his step sequence.
"I feel very relieved that I was able to put out that performance the way I tried to," Malinin stated. "It wasn't what I planned to [do], and of course there's a few minor things that I can keep improving. But overall I feel pretty confident and I'm really happy landing the quad loop, finally, this season."
Added Malinin, "I was like 'I finally got this' so now I can focus on the rest of the program. The energy in the arena was impressive. It was so wild and chaotic and it really just helped me get to the rest of the program."
A Shocking Performance by Kagiyama
The 21-year-old Kagiyama, a three-time world silver medalist, skated to "Ameska" and "Romanza" and was in trouble from the outset. He popped his opening quad flip into a double, then landed a shaky quad salchow. Kagiyama recovered to hit a quad toe loop/double toe loop combination jump followed by a three-jump combo. But then he fell on a quad toe loop, and singled the back end of a triple flip/triple toe loop combo.
Kagiyama did record level fours on two of his spins and his step sequence.
It was an absolutely shocking performance by the Beijing Olympic silver medalist and one of the worst outings of his decorated career. After placing second in the short program, Kagiyama wound up an unfathomable 10th in the free skate. His strong program components scores are what kept him on the podium.
"Because the first jump set the tone, I was rushing and made a mistake," Kagiyama admitted. "After that, it was an uphill battle. Because of teammates' stellar effort and my short program, we were able to secure three spots [for the Olympics] and that was a big relief."
Added Kagiyama, "I didn't think that today's performance was great, and was wondering if I deserve the podium, but I will accept it. I'm so glad that I didn't let the team down at the end. Today's performance was a humbling experience. I feel like I need to work on my self-confidence."
Shaidorov Shines in Free Skate
Shaidorov, a 20-year-old from Almaty, competed to "Moonlight Sonata" and "Take On Me" and put out an impressive effort. He landed four clean quads and five triples. And he earned level fours on two of his spins but just a level two on his step sequence.
"I can't believe it. I didn't think about a medal when I went out to skate," Shaidorov remarked. "Just wanted to skate the best I can, enjoy all the emotions in this beautiful arena. I wanted to give my maximum."
Shaidorov said his result at worlds was inconceivable at the start of this campaign.
"At the beginning of the season, I never would have believed it that I would be on the podium at worlds," Shaidorov stated. "It was a long and tough season, but also a breakthrough season, and now it's only about moving forward."
Miscues Spoil Sato's Quest For a Medal
Sato came into the free skate in fifth place with a shot at making the podium, but fell on a quad toe loop midway through his skate to "Nostos" and was hit with an edge call on a quad flip. The 21-year-old managed to post just one level four between all of the spins and step sequence.
Three-Peat for Chock and Bates in Ice Dance
Earlier Saturday, Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the US clinched their third consecutive world title in ice dance. The duo prevailed with 222.06. Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier took second at 216.54, while Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson came in third on 207.11.
Japan's Utana Yoshida and Masaya Morita placed 22nd in the rhythm dance and did not advance to the free dance.
The world championships will conclude with the Exhibition Gala on Sunday. In 2026, the worlds will be held in Prague.
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Author: Jack Gallagher
The author is a veteran sports journalist and one of the world's foremost figure skating experts. Find articles and podcasts by Jack on his author page, and find him on X (formerly Twitter) @sportsjapan.
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