By Rory Carroll
Milan, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Ilia Malinin made his highly anticipated Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina Games on Saturday but was outclassed by Japanese rival Yuma Kagiyama as the United States’ lead in the team event was cut to just one point following the men’s short programme.
Going on to the ice last, Malinin executed two soaring quadruple jumps and a crowd-pleasing backflip but his performance was far from flawless.
The American, who is expected to become the first competitor ever to land a quadruple Axel at the Olympics when the men’s individual competition begins on Tuesday, opted to play it safe by executing a triple Axel – but even that did not go to plan as he failed to land it cleanly.
The 21-year-old looked stunned when his score of 98.00 points flashed up on the big screen, leaving him well behind his closest rival Kagiyama, who delivered an exhilarating performance for 108.67 points.
At the halfway point of the competition, the U.S. lead the standings with a total of 34 points, followed by Japan on 33, Italy on 28, Canada on 27, and Georgia on 25 as the 10-team field was cut down to five for the free skates, following which the medals will be decided.
France, South Korea, China, Britain and Poland were eliminated.
PACING HIMSELF
Malinin sought to downplay the upset, saying he was building up to the individual competition, where the two-time world champion is the runaway gold-medal favourite.
“I presumed to come into this team competition with only 50% of my full potential,” he told reporters.
“So that’s what I felt like here today. That’s the way I paced myself leading up to the individual.”
Asked about some of his landings being shaky, he said: “It’s Olympic ice. I’m sure a lot of people would feel that.”
Kagiyama could not contain his excitement, leaping to his feet when his score was posted and enthusiastically embracing his teammates.
“I did a perfect performance,” the 2022 Beijing Games silver medallist said.
“I did well today, so I’m satisfied, but for the individual competition, I have to make it even better.”
Thanks to his quad-heavy programmes and explosive style, Malinin is one of the Games’ top draws.
The Vienna, Virginia native has won 14 competitions in a row and has been undefeated since November 2023, putting enormous pressure on him in his first Olympic Games.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, Lori Ewing, and Agnieszka Flak in Milan, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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