Ilia Malinin secured his fourth consecutive national title at the US Figure Skating Championships on Saturday, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates earned a record seventh national ice dance title. This event drew considerable public attention as both teams are considered strong contenders for medals at the upcoming Milano-Cortina Olympics.
Malinin, a 21-year-old skater from Virginia, showcased his dominance in the competition with a particularly impressive performance during the short program on Thursday, which set him apart from the other competitors. In the free skate segment, he achieved a score of 209.78, bringing his total to 324.88 points.
Malinin needed 152.53 points in the free skate to clinch the victory but achieved a 57.26-point margin over his nearest competitor with a clean performance that energized the audience.
Andrew Torgashev finished in second place with a total of 267.62 points, while Maxim Naumov secured third with 249.16 points. Malinin’s next focus will be the Olympic Games, where he aims to follow Nathan Chen’s gold medal achievement from the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
In the ice dance event, Chock and Bates also made history by winning their fifth consecutive title, marking a record seventh national title overall for any ice dance team in U.S. history. This victory establishes them as leading medal contenders for the Milano-Cortina Olympics.
Following their performance, Bates noted that their free dance was the best of their season thus far. The couple finished with a score of 137.17 points in the free dance, bringing their total to 228.87 points.
Chock and Bates had gained a significant lead following the rhythm dance segment, where they scored a season-best 91.70 points. Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik placed second with a total of 213.65 points, while Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko finished third with 206.95 points.
The U.S. figure skating team for the Milano-Cortina Olympics will be announced on Sunday.
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