Ilia Malinin Defends Grand Prix Final Title; Yuma Kagiyama Finishes 2nd

American Ilia Malinin won the Grand Prix Final for the second straight year on Saturday night, December 7, in Grenoble, France, despite having major jump issues in his free skate. Holding a big lead after the short program enabled the 20-year-old Malinin to hang on and get the victory.

Malinin's winning total score was 292.12 points, more than 10 ahead of Yuma Kagiyama in second with 281.78. Shun Sato moved up from fourth after the short program to come in third at 270.82.

Italy's Daniel Grassl was fourth with 254.96, while Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov finished fifth at 253.75. France's Kevin Aymoz wound up sixth on 238.63.

Malinin Slumps in Free Skate Routine

Malinin skated to "I'm Not A Vampire" and had an uncharacteristically poor performance. He fell on a quadruple lutz, under-rotated three jumps, and was judged a quarter rotation short on four others. Malinin attempted seven quads in all but did not land a single one cleanly.

The so-called "Quad God" made history by becoming the first skater to attempt seven quads and six different kinds of quads in a single program.

"Going into the Grand Prix Final I wanted to challenge myself with my technical ability as well as try to incorporate the artistry that I've been working on through the past few seasons," Malinin stated. "I think it was a kind of a challenge for me to want to come out here and try to put everything into one program and see how it goes."

Added Malinin, "It was not what I wanted but I am still proud of myself. I try to create something new even though at the very beginning it can look weird and unsure. The biggest challenge is to try to make everything consistent and as clean as possible and to put technical aspects and artistry together."

Kagiyama Triumphs in the Free Skate 

The 21-year-old Kagiyama competed to "Ameska" and "Romanza" and won the free skate (188.29) by landing three clean quads and five triples. He could have made the final margin closer had he not doubled a planned quad salchow and earned only level threes on two of his spins and step sequence.

"It's actually the second time I came to Grenoble, so it was kind of nostalgic to come back here," Kagiyama commented. "The French public was very enthusiastic and it helped me enjoy even more performing here."

Added Kagiyama, "I regret that even though I was able to do all the elements of my program during my training, I couldn't do them as well as I wished today because I was so tense. Hope to learn to control my emotions better so not to be so tense."

Sato Secures the Grand Prix Final Bronze Medal

Sato also hit three clean quads and five triples in his performance to "Nostos." The 20-year-old fell on a quad flip and managed just level threes on two of his spins and step sequence. But he was still able to make the podium.

"It's been two years since I was in the Final and I'm very happy with today's performance," Sato remarked. "Because I failed during the short program, I tried to not care about it too much today. Today in my performance I did a high (quad) lutz, which increased my score, so I'm happy with the results."

Added Sato, "I think it's a good experience and because the Japanese national championships are coming up, I would like to train well for them."

Sanchez Takes Junior Grand Prix Final Title in Debut

Earlier Saturday, American Jacob Sanchez claimed the junior men's crown with a solid free skate in his first appearance in the prestigious event.

Sanchez's winning tally was 227.38, with South Korea's Minkyu Seo taking second at 222.14. Rio Nakata, the leader after the short program, tumbled to third with 215.33.

Sena Takahashi moved up from sixth after the short program to finish fourth with 204.40. New Zealand's Yanhao Li (201.63) was fifth, with Slovakia's Lukas Vaclavik (176.36) coming in sixth.

The 17-year-old Sanchez was second after the short program, but captured the title with six clean triples and level fours on all of his spins in his skate to "lo Ci Saro."

"I was happy to be able to recover after the initial jump (triple axel) and kind of get myself back to my body," Sanchez noted. "My nerves were significant today even though I am not usually nervous, but I am happy the way I controlled myself."

Added Sanchez, "This is a very good season for me and going forward I want to make a strong debut at nationals [in January 2025] and I want to improve my placement at junior worlds as well."

Nakata Encounters Timing Issues on the Ice

The 16-year-old Nakata, who won the 2023 GP Final, singled two different planned triple jumps (axel, loop) and was able to get just one level four on his spins. He did hit six triples, but was doomed by the major jump misses.

"During my training, I was able to land my jumps properly and I was first for the short program, but when I learned the other skaters' scores, I felt a lot of pressure," Nakata commented. "I thought I could win this competition once again, but today I couldn't find the right timing for my jumps like the axel."

Added Nakata, "Even though I made mistakes, if I had worked harder to do my other jumps better, maybe I could've gotten a better score."

Takahashi Showcases Jump Skills

The 14-year-old Takahashi competed to "The Four Seasons" and landed an impressive eight clean triples, though his spins were unstable (level four, level three, level two).

"I made a rare mistake in my SP, so I was both worried and nervous, but I could skate until the end without giving up," Takahashi said. "So first of all, I'm happy. To be honest, it hasn't sunk in yet that the performance is over. It was over before I knew it."

Chock, Bates Victorious Once More in Ice Dance

World champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the US scored a comfortable victory in ice dance for their second consecutive GP Final triumph. The duo's winning mark was 219.85, well ahead of Italy's Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, who were second with 206.11. Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson wound up third at 205.18.

Meanwhile, Sae Shimizu and Lucas Tsuyoshi Honda (145.66) were fifth in the junior pairs event won by China's Jiaxuan Zhang and Yuhang Huang (176.09).

RELATED:

• Grand Prix Final: Ilia Malinin Holds a Big Lead Over Yuma Kagiyama After the Men's Short Program
• Amber Glenn Holds Off Mone Chiba to Win the Grand Prix Final in France
• Mao Shimada Wins Junior Grand Prix Final for 3rd Consecutive Year

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.