Ilia "Quad God" Malinin's quest for Olympic figure skating gold may not be so easy after all, as Yuma Kagiyama stunned the Americans with a pair of near-perfect quads in the short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion, had been favored to win the event but fell just short, finishing second behind Kagiyama's score of 108.67 points.
The Japanese skater's performance was impressive, with a quadruple toe-triple toe combination and a perfect triple axel in his free skate later that night. His teammates Kaori Sakamoto and pairs world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara also impressed, giving Japan a strong chance to win the team medal.
"We will work it out," Malinin said after his disappointing performance. "I'm trying to enjoy every single moment and just be grateful for everything." Despite his disappointment, Malinin remains confident in his abilities and is focused on improving for the rest of the competition.
The Americans have been on a mission since the 2022 Beijing Games, where their Olympic triumph was overshadowed by a Russian doping controversy. They have long been considered Japan's biggest rivals in figure skating, and Saturday night's results only reinforced that rivalry.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won gold at both the 2024 and 2025 ISU Figure Skating World Championships, also put on a strong performance for their team, winning their ice dance event with a score of 133.23 points. Their free dance program was met with thunderous applause from the crowd.
The U.S. team now holds a narrow lead over Japan in the overall standings, but Sunday's men's, women's, and pairs free skates are still to come, which could alter the outcome.
The Japanese skater's performance was impressive, with a quadruple toe-triple toe combination and a perfect triple axel in his free skate later that night. His teammates Kaori Sakamoto and pairs world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara also impressed, giving Japan a strong chance to win the team medal.
"We will work it out," Malinin said after his disappointing performance. "I'm trying to enjoy every single moment and just be grateful for everything." Despite his disappointment, Malinin remains confident in his abilities and is focused on improving for the rest of the competition.
The Americans have been on a mission since the 2022 Beijing Games, where their Olympic triumph was overshadowed by a Russian doping controversy. They have long been considered Japan's biggest rivals in figure skating, and Saturday night's results only reinforced that rivalry.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who won gold at both the 2024 and 2025 ISU Figure Skating World Championships, also put on a strong performance for their team, winning their ice dance event with a score of 133.23 points. Their free dance program was met with thunderous applause from the crowd.
The U.S. team now holds a narrow lead over Japan in the overall standings, but Sunday's men's, women's, and pairs free skates are still to come, which could alter the outcome.
what's going on with these skaters?! Yuma Kagiyama was ON FIRE 
, I mean, that quadruple toe-triple toe combo in the short program? 
insane! But at the same time, Ilia Malinin is still so determined 
, he didn't give up after his disappointing performance. It's clear he's got the skills and talent to win it all. And can we talk about Madison Chock & Evan Bates' free dance program? 
they absolutely SLAYED the competition! But Sunday's events are gonna shake things up - this is getting intense 
! That quad toe-triple toe combo was insane 
. The U.S. team's been on fire since Beijing, but Japan's not going to give up easily 
. Stats-wise, though: Yuma Kagiyama averaged 113.92 points per program at the 2025 World Championships 
( highest in both short and free skate 
. But don't count Japan out yet - Sunday's free skates could shake things up 
. The overall standings currently have Japan + USA + China leading the pack 
. Can't wait to see what happens next! 
.
. Either way, it's been epic to watch these figure skaters go head-to-head 
. Like, who thought it was a good idea to have two events on the same day? It's already stressful enough for skaters, now they gotta perform again after their first go? Not to mention, it's gonna be super tough for them to recover and stay focused... not to mention the crowd is probably gonna be even more hyped this time around 
. And on top of that, I wish they'd stop with these "team medals" nonsense 
. Can't we just have a straightforward winner-takes-all style competition?
. The American team's rivalry with Japan is heating up and I'm hyped to see what the rest of the competition has in store 
malinin was so close but yuma kagiyama just dominated the short program 
his combos were insane!! i mean i felt bad for malinin after that second place finish, he seemed pretty chill about it tho 
and japan's team is looking strong now with sakamoto and miura also killing it 
still gonna be a tight competition on sunday tho can't wait to see what these skaters can do in the free skate