ISU Grand Prix Final 2024: Ilia Malinin skates and sings his way to dominant short program lead
The defending Grand Prix Final champion got a nearly 12-point lead over the closet competitor with a jump-packed and message-rich skate.
Figure Skating
How much did Ilia Malinin enjoy skating on the Grand Prix ice again since his back-to-back victories in October? So much so that he was singing during his short program in Grenoble on Friday (6 December).
"That's what happens when I just let go," the defending Grand Prix Final champion said with a laugh. "It's just, I guess, muscle memory."
The USA figure skater was in roaring form as he delivered a punchy skate to put himself almost 12 points above the nearest competition, double Olympic silver medallist Kagiyama Yuma. A quarter under-rotation on his quad Lutz was the only exception in an otherwise clean skate that included a solid quad flip and triple Axel, and earned Malinin 105.43 points.
"I felt really confident going out on the ice," he said. "When I first stepped on the ice, I felt really good and I was really able to be 100 per cent focussed in that performance. I was able to even, at the end, just let everything go and just let the crowd take the wave."
Himself included. Getting fully into his skate, the reigning world champion belted out some lines from his music choice, "Running" by NF, which is one of his favourite tracks. In addition to skating to the rap song almost every day, Malinin said he always listens to it ahead of his competitions to get in the zone.
Malinin even changed his costume choice from the one he had at Skate America and Skate Canada International to better reflect the message of the song.
"The whole story of the music is he has a part of himself that he does not like and he wants to get rid of it and he can't find any way to get rid of it," he explained. "Towards the end of the program, that's where he finds this one way that he's able to escape this part.
"So the grey on the costume represents that locked up kind of suffering and worn out from all of that suffering. And then the blue is supposed to represent the freedom."
Malinin has had more time than most skaters to change up his costume and program elements. Unlike his rivals who competed in more recent Grand Prix events, Malinin last skated in the series more than a month ago.
Rather than making him rusty, however, Malinin said it gave him more space to get ready for the Final.
"It's been a little easier to prepare because I was able to just get them out, back-to-back, and then spend the rest of the time really just cleaning up the program and focusing on the stamina and just building that base for the future season," he said.
The changes included working on his lines on the ice and giving the choreography a better flow.
Aside from the upgrades to the technical elements, Malinin is bringing more artistry and confidence to his title defence.
"One of the big things I recognise is the confidence that I have when I get on the ice," Malinin said of the biggest changes he noticed since winning his Grand Prix Final title in 2023. "When I get on the ice, I'm able to really be in that zone and to just be focussed and be ready to deliver the program. I think that's something that I noticed that I've changed from last year.
"I think also the artistry has increased a lot and the creativeness of how I put the program together. I think that has a little deeper meaning than just skating to music."
Kagiyama picked up 93.49 points for his short program with Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, who was called up last-minute as a replacement for an injured Adam Siao Him Fa, sitting in third at 91.26.
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ISU Grand Prix Final 2024 – Men's short program result
- Ilia Malinin (USA) 105.43
- Kagiyama Yuma (JPN) 93.49
- Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) 91.26
- Sato Shun (JPN) 86.28
- Daniel Grassl (ITA) 81.76
- Kevin Aymoz (FRA) 68.82