{"id":1987,"date":"2025-03-30T17:56:03","date_gmt":"2025-03-30T14:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/?p=1987"},"modified":"2025-03-30T17:56:04","modified_gmt":"2025-03-30T14:56:04","slug":"malinins-quad-mastery-secures-second-world-title-at-2025-championships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vsaworld.com\/blog\/malinins-quad-mastery-secures-second-world-title-at-2025-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Malinin\u2019s Quad Mastery Secures Second World Title at 2025 Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"

The men\u2019s free skate at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships<\/a> on Saturday night was a spectacle of daring jumps, emotional highs, and historic moments, with Ilia Malinin of the United States cementing his reign as the \u201cQuadgod.\u201d On March 29, 2025, the 20-year-old phenom electrified the TD Garden crowd, landing six quadruple jumps\u2014including his signature quad Axel\u2014to defend his world title with a commanding total score of 318.56. The final day of competition in Boston showcased not only Malinin\u2019s technical supremacy but also the resilience and artistry of a fiercely competitive field vying for glory less than a year from the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Quadgod Strikes Again<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Entering the free skate with a 3.32-point lead over Japan\u2019s Yuma Kagiyama after Thursday\u2019s short program (110.41), Malinin faced sky-high expectations on home ice. Skating second-to-last to a pulsating medley from Dune<\/em>, he delivered a performance that blended audacity with precision. His opening quad flip earned a massive +4.24 grade of execution, setting the tone for a program that featured six quads: a flip, Lutz, two toe loops, a Salchow, and the groundbreaking quad Axel\u2014though the latter received a quarter-underrotation call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI just wanted to give it my all and really fight for every element,\u201d Malinin told reporters afterward, still buzzing from the adrenaline. His free skate scored a season-best 208.15, dwarfing the field and securing his second consecutive world title by a 31.09-point margin. The Virginia native punctuated his victory with two backflips\u2014one mid-program and another during the medal ceremony\u2014igniting a standing ovation from the 13,000 fans who packed the arena.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Malinin\u2019s win marked him as the first American man to repeat as world champion since Nathan Chen in 2018-19, reinforcing a storied U.S. tradition: every American men\u2019s singles skater who won worlds the year before the Olympics has gone on to claim Olympic gold, from Dick Button in 1952 to Chen in 2022. With his eight-event win streak intact since December 2023, Malinin is firmly on that path.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n