Two-time figure skating world champion Ilia Malinin made a winning start to the Olympic season with victory in the ISU Challenger Series Lombardia Trophy on Sunday (14 September 2025).
Skating last and with a lead of 13 points from the short program, Malinin could afford to leave his famed quadruple Axel in the locker for another day. He landed four quads and, although the execution of the Lutz and toeloop were some way below his best, a quad Salchow-triple Axel near the end of his routine to “A Voice” secured him high marks before he performed a backflip.
His free skate score of 197.78 was the best of the day and gave the ‘Quad God’ a total of 306.65, more than 20 points ahead of the rest of the field.
Second place went to Olympic silver medallist Kagiyama Yuma who, having been hampered by cramp during his short program, had a solid free skate. He landed two quad jumps although his quad toeloop was given a quarter call, while a triple Axel also received a negative Grade of Execution.
The Japanese received a score of 190.47 for a total of 285.91, and a clear second place ahead from home skater Nikolaj Memola.
Miura Kao, third after the short program, had a day to forget as he made a number of jumping errors. He was only 10th in the free skate to leave him sixth overall. Sato Shun and two-time European champion Adam Siao Him Fa were fourth and fifth respectively.
After this win, Malinin will now focus on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating. His two assignments are next month’s opener, the Grand Prix de France in Angers, and Skate Canada in Saskatoon at the end of October.