Ilia Malinin Takes Early Lead at Grand Prix de France

ANGERS, France (AP) — World champion figure skater Ilia Malinin of the United States took a significant lead in the short program during his first Grand Prix event of the season on Saturday, ahead of the Winter Olympics. The skater, known as the ‘quad god,’ landed a quadruple flip and a quadruple lutz-triple toeloop combination, finishing his performance with a backflip, which wowed the audience at the Grand Prix de France.

Malinin scored 105.22 points, nearly 10 points ahead of Georgia’s Nika Egadze, who scored 95.67, and Japan’s Kao Miura, who was in third place with 87.25. His strong showing positioned him favorably ahead of Sunday’s free skate.

France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, the top skater from the host nation, has a streak of three consecutive Grand Prix victories but is likely to see that end as he placed fifth in the short program. U.S. skater Maxim Naumov received cheers from the crowd despite finishing ninth. This marks his first Grand Prix following the tragic loss of both his world champion parents in a plane accident earlier this year.

Ami Nakai of Japan stunned the competition, defeating three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto and leading a podium sweep for the Japanese women’s team. In her first senior Grand Prix, Nakai expressed her shock and excitement at scoring 149.08 in the free skate, a personal best, for a total of 227.08 points.

“Never did I think that I would be able to win, but I won this debut Grand Prix event, so I’m just elated,” Nakai said through an interpreter. Sakamoto finished with 224.23 points after encountering rare errors during her performance.

In the pairs event, Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara emerged victorious, scoring 219.15 points despite some errors by Miura. They outperformed Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, who earned silver with 197.66, and Hungary’s Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko, who took bronze with 192.76.

The Grand Prix de France serves as the first of many competitions leading to the finals in December, providing essential preparation for skaters targeting medals at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.