Teenager Ilia Malinin wins first title at U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Jason Brown nabs silver

A year after he was a surprise breakout star at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, 18-year-old Ilia Malinin is a national champion.

The teenager could not land another historic quadruple Axel, and had to fight through several jumping issues to capture his maiden title on Sunday (29 January) and continue the podium momentum he built over the ISU Grand Prix Series when he won a pair of titles plus bronze at the Grand Prix Final.

Malinin is the youngest men's winner in the U.S. since Beijing 2022 Olympic champion Nathan Chen won his first of six titles at age 17 in 2017.

He scored a 177.38 in the free skate for a 287.74 overall.

Veteran Jason Brown, the 2015 champion at this event and a two-time Olympian, was mesmerizing in his free skate, earning the silver medal with a 277.31 overall (177.06 free skate). Brown turned in a sublime skate, stumbling only on his final jump, a triple flip. He received a thunderous standing ovation from the San Jose crowd inside the SAP Center.

It's Brown's eighth national medal dating back to 2014.

2015 junior national champion Andrew Torgashev surged from fifth place to capture the bronze medal - his first in seniors - with a 256.56. He won the free skate with a score of 177.78.

After his fall on the quad Axel attempt, Malinin hit three consecutive quads before popping a Lutz attempt into a double. He doubled a toe-loop soon thereafter. He recovered, however, adding a triple Lutz-triple Axel-triple toe combination that secured the win.

"The goal was to get this title," Malinin told reporters after. "I wanted to get a successful short program. I still have work to do. [This] is a learning experience. I enjoy competing because you find something you're not good at and you put in the work and, over time, it gets better."

Earlier in the weekend, 15-year-old Isabeau Levito claimed her first title in women's singles, while reigning pairs world champions Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier won their second gold and Madison Chock and Evan Bates captured the ice dance crown for a fourth time.

• Teenagers Levito, Malinin, veterans Knierim/Frazier, Chock/Bates lead U.S. squad for Worlds
• All scores and results - U.S. Figure Skating Championships
• Women's wrap: Isabeau Levito takes title going away
• Knierim/Frazier, Chock/Bates claim respective golds
• Malinin exclusive: On Nathan Chen, 2026 Olympics & more

Malinin holds off Brown, Torgashev

A 10-point cushion ended up being helpful to Malinin, as his three-jump combo towards the end of the program kept him in first. Brown's falter on his late-program triple flip also proved pivotal.

Brown shook off the demons of his last visit to this building: In 2018 he finished sixth at nationals - his worst showing over the last decade - and missed the U.S. Olympic team. 

He did not compete in the Grand Prix Series, and is training with a shared focus on exhibition shows and competition.

"This was my choice to come back out here," Brown said of his return to SAP Center. "I wanted to re-write my story. A big part of this was coming back to San Jose... the [2018] demons are gone."

Torgashev won the free skate with a career showing, landing a quadruple toe to open and then eight triples thereafter, all marked with a positive GOE (Grade of Execution). 

Due to injury, Torgashev has barely competed the last two seasons. He was fifth at U.S. nationals in 2020, then placed eighth at World Juniors.

"[This feels] surreal," Torgashev said. "I went out trying to do my best and what we've been training and it all worked out. It feels great."

Both Maxim Naumov and Jimmy Ma moved up after the short program, jumping to finish fourth and fifth, respectively.