Ilia Malinin posted a personal-best total score of 333.81 points at Skate Canada International in Saskatoon on Sunday. His free skate of 228.97 set a world record under the current judging system, surpassing Nathan Chen’s 224.92 from the 2019 Grand Prix Final.
A quad loop, finally conquered
The 20-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia, skated to music from “Les Bal des Folles” and built his afternoon around one jump above all others. He wanted the quadruple loop, the quad he had attempted least, and landed it with three grades of plus‑4 and six of plus‑3 from the panel.
He completed five quad types cleanly in a single programme, a first under the current system. A slight imperfection on a step sequence and one spin kept him from maximum levels, yet 19 of 27 component marks still reached 9.0 or higher.
A margin without modern parallel
Malinin finished 76.60 points ahead of Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko, who claimed silver with 257.21. No international competition in the 22 seasons of the current scoring system had produced a larger winning margin.
Twelve straight, one quiet caveat
The win extended his unbeaten streak to 12 consecutive international events, dating to the 2023 Grand Prix season. It secured his spot at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya and confirmed the momentum of a skater who first made history with the quadruple Axel at age 17.
“It almost felt like I was on autopilot,” Malinin told reporters afterwards. “It wasn’t perfect. There’s always more to add to the program. Hopefully that record can be even higher.”
The overall total fell just shy of Chen’s all‑time mark of 335.30, yet the direction of travel was unmistakable even on a day when no rival could push him close.
