By Rory Carroll
Milan, Feb 7 (Reuters) – Ilia Malinin made his anticipated Olympic debut at the Milano Cortina Games on Saturday and despite being upstaged by Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, the U.S. extended their lead in the team event thanks to the ice dancing of Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
Going on to the ice last in the men’s short programme, Malinin executed two soaring quadruple jumps and a crowd-pleasing backflip but his performance was far from flawless.
The American, who is expected to become the first competitor ever to land a quadruple Axel at the Olympics when the men’s individual competition begins on Tuesday, opted to play it safe by executing a triple Axel – but even that did not go to plan as he failed to land it cleanly.
The 21-year-old looked stunned when his score of 98.00 points flashed up on the big screen, leaving him well behind his closest rival Kagiyama, who delivered an exhilarating performance for 108.67 points.
But a sensational skate by ice dance veterans and team leaders Chock and Bates lifted the U.S. as they notched a season-best score of 133.23, prompting a beaming Malinin to wrap his arms around the couple in the Kiss and Cry area.
The U.S. lead the standings with a total of 44 points, followed by Japan on 39, Italy on 37, Canada on 35, and Georgia with 32. Medals will be decided after the final three events on Sunday.
France, South Korea, China, Britain and Poland were eliminated from the competition earlier in the day.
PACING HIMSELF
Malinin sought to downplay the upset, saying he was building up to the individual competition, where the two-time world champion is the runaway gold-medal favourite.
“I presumed to come into this team competition with only 50% of my full potential,” he told reporters.
“So that’s what I felt like here today. That’s the way I paced myself leading up to the individual.”
Asked about some of his landings being shaky, he said: “It’s Olympic ice. I’m sure a lot of people would feel that.”
Kagiyama could not contain his excitement, leaping to his feet when his score was posted and enthusiastically embracing his teammates.
“I did a perfect performance,” the 2022 Beijing Games silver medallist said.
“I did well today, so I’m satisfied, but for the individual competition, I have to make it even better.”
Thanks to his quad-heavy programmes and explosive style, Malinin is one of the Games’ top draws.
But the Vienna, Virginia native also comes into his first Olympics shouldering a heavy weight of expectation after winning 14 competitions in a row and going undefeated since November 2023.
CHOCK AND BATES SHINE
Chock and Bates, who won a gold in the team event in Beijing four years ago, sent a message that they are coming for gold in their individual event with an aggressive dance to an instrumental version of the Rolling Stones’ classic “Paint it Black.”
“I believe in momentum. I think it’s proven to work in sports, and it feels like there’s something special out there in that atmosphere, on Olympic ice,” Bates said.
“We’re really happy with how we skated so far at this event, and especially happy to contribute meaningfully to the team.”
Sunday’s team finale will feature pairs, women’s and men’s free skates.
Malinin did not know whether he would perform on Sunday.
“I haven’t decided yet,” he said.
“I’ll go back and talk with a lot of people and really just make a decision whether it’s going to be worth it for me.”
Chock, who is competing in her fourth and possibly final Games with husband Bates, said she was confident in the team regardless of who takes the ice on Sunday.
“I think our team is incredibly strong, arguably as strong as it’s ever been,” she told reporters.
“I have the utmost faith in them, and I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”
(Reporting by Rory Carroll, Lori Ewing, and Agnieszka Flak in Milan, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
