Ilia Malinin of United States performs a backflip during the men's single short program figure skating competition at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Malinin is in first place with a score of 108.16. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPIDarryl CooteWed, February 11, 2026 at 2:56 AM UTC·2 min readFeb. 10 (UPI) -- The United States' Ilia Malinin delivered a near-perfect short program Tuesday night in Milano, putting the two-time world champion firmly atop the men's singles standings heading into Friday's free skate.
The "Quad God" pulled off one of the most difficult short programs in the field at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, landing a quad flip, a triple Axel and a quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination to the dramatic and cinematic The Lost Crown.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe 21-year-old's routine also included a backflip, permitted in competition for the first time in 2024. Though it did not score, it set the tone. He became the first skater to perform a backflip legally at the Olympics during the team event short program.
The skate netted a score of 108.16, putting him nearly five points ahead of Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, who finished second with a 103.07, and France's Adam Siao Him Fa, who was sitting in third with 102.55.
The United States' Andrew Torgashev was in eighth place after the short program with a score of 88.94 and American Maxim Naumov was in 14th with 85.65 points. twenty-four men skated Tuesday night.
Ilia Malinin of United States slides across the ice with his routine during the men's single short program figure skating competition at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPIThe skate was Malinin's third of this Olympics, having won his first Olympic gold medal on Sunday in the men's team event.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementAfter Tuesday's performance, Malinin told reporters that he felt "really comfortable" compared to his two previous skates.
Ilia Malinin of United States waves to the fans after performing his routine during the men's single short program figure skating competition at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI"I definitely wanted to take a different approach as opposed to the team event, where I think I just went out there and feeling that Olympic atmosphere really just blew me away and I got, maybe, a little too excited," he said.
"This time, I wanted to be really calm, really nice approach, let it on autopilot."
Shun Sato of Japan performs his routine during the men's single short program figure skating competition at the Milano Figure Skating Arena in Milan, Italy on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. Photo by Richard Ellis/UPIThe free skate portion of men's singles is scheduled for Friday.
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