ANGERS, France (AP) — World champion figure skater Ilia Malinin of the United States made a statement by taking a near 10-point lead in the short program in his first Grand Prix event of the season ahead of the Winter Olympics.
The skater nicknamed the “quad god” landed a quadruple flip and a quadruple lutz-triple toeloop combination, plus a backflip as an exclamation point toward the end of his skate in the Grand Prix de France on Saturday.
Malinin scored 105.22 points for a commanding lead over Nika Egadze of Georgia on 95.67 ahead of Sunday’s free skate, with Kao Miura of Japan third on 87.25.
France’s top skater Adam Siao Him Fa has won his home Grand Prix three years in a row but that streak seems set to end after he was fifth in the short program.
U.S. skater Maxim Naumov was cheered by the crowd as he placed ninth. This is his first Grand Prix since both of his parents, both world champion skaters, died when their plane crashed into a military helicopter on approach to Washington, D.C., in January.
Nakai’s debut surprise
Ami Nakai produced a big upset to beat three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto and lead a Japanese women’s podium sweep.
Competing in her first senior Grand Prix, Nakai put both hands to her mouth in shock at seeing her score of 149.08 in the free skate — a personal best by over 11 points — and 227.08 overall.
Skating to “What a Wonderful World,” Nakai was the only skater to attempt a triple axel jump, even if she put a hand down to steady herself on the landing.
“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, previously best known for a bronze at the 2023 world junior championships, said through an interpreter.
Sakamoto was second on 224.23 after rare errors on spins and Rion Sumiyoshi took the bronze with 216.06, overtaking Isabeau Levito of the United States in the free skate.
Spice Girls dance takes first
Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson took the ice dance lead with a score of 84.38 for their Spice Girls rhythm dance.
Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius took second for Lithuania on 80.98 and the 2022 Olympic champion Guillaume Cizeron fell during his dance with new partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry for France but their performance to “Vogue” was still good enough for third on 78. The ice dance event concludes Sunday.
The pairs free skate is later Saturday. World champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara lead after the short program.
The Grand Prix de France is the first of six regular season Grand Prix events building to a final in December. It’s a key test for skaters eyeing medals at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics in February.
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