Defending champ US takes lead into final day of team figure skating at the Milano Cortina Olympics

MILAN (AP) — Ilia Malinin’s quest for Olympic figure skating gold might not be so easy after all.

Same goes for his American team.

Yuma Kagiyama landed a pair of near-perfect quads, one in combination with a triple toe loop, and scored 108.67 points in his short program on Saturday night. That topped Malinin in the segment — he was second with 98.00 — and helped to keep the Japanese team within distance of the defending champion U.S. heading into the final day of competition.

Thanks to a brilliant free skate by Madison Chock and Evan Bates later in the night, the U.S. ended the day with 44 points. Japan was five points back going into the men’s, women’s and pairs free skates to decide the medals Sunday.

“You know, I think I got to buckle down and see what happens and get better next time. We will work it out,” said Malinin, the two-time and reigning world champion, who is unbeaten in his last 14 full competitions stretching back more than two years.

Malinin will have to work it out in a hurry: The U.S. is sending him back out for the free skate on the decisive day.

Japan is likewise sending Kagiyama back out for his free skate.

“I did watch his skate,” Malinin said of Kagiyama, also his biggest rival in the individual competition later in the Winter Games, “and I was so happy for him. He was so happy. It looked like he was enjoying every single moment. It’s just so unreal that all of us are here on the Olympic stage. I really feel so much energy and so much excitement.”

Given the lineups for Sunday, for all practical purposes, the U.S. and Japan are in a duel for gold. But the race for the bronze medal is also tight with Italy standing on 37 points, Canada two points back and Georgia with 32.

The top five teams advanced after short programs, and the Canadians squeaked through thanks to Stephen Gogolev’s personal-best 92.99 score. Kevin Aymoz was unable to match him for France, leaving his team one point below the cut line.

“I’m focusing more on myself,” Gogolev said, “and obviously that is going to translate to the highest ranking possible for the team.”

As for Malinin, he had stalked through the tunnels inside Milano Ice Skating Arena before his Olympic debut, wearing a black tank top that read “Quad God,” the nickname borne of the way that he performs his otherworldly four-revolution jumps.

The 21-year-old wunderkind did not attempt the quad axel, the 4 1/2-revolution jump only he has ever landed in competition, on Saturday night and did a shaky version of a triple instead. Malinin hit a big opening quad flip and finished his program with a quad lutz-triple toe loop, getting bonus points for the combination in the second half of the program.

But when his score was read, Malinin seemed almost stunned that Kagiyama had beaten him — and by a 10-point margin.

“That’s only 50% of my full potential here,” Malinin said.

Kagiyama opened with a quad toe-triple toe combination, landed a quad salchow and finished his short program with a peerless triple axel. And unlike Malinin, when Kagiyama’s score was read he jumped out of his seat with clenched fists raised high.

“I always receive good motivation from Ilia because he is one of the skaters who created this figure skating moment,” said Kagiyama, who was second to Malinin at the Grand Prix Final in December. “I always think that I want to catch him.”

The U.S. has been on a mission since the 2022 Beijing Games, when its Olympic triumph was overshadowed by a Russian doping controversy. The ensuing investigation held the gold medals in limbo for more than two years, until Chock and Bates were part of the American squad that finally received them in a ceremony during the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

It was only fitting that Chock and Bates would perform — and win — both of their programs during the team competition.

Their free dance, a flamenco-styled program set to “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi western “Westworld,” had the crowd on its feet by the end. Their season-best score of 133.23 points gave a big boost to a U.S. squad in need of some momentum.

The Japanese have long been considered its biggest rivals. And they have lived up to those expectations with winning short programs from Kaori Sakamoto and the pair of Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara to go with Kagiyama’s triumph Saturday night.

All of them will be on the ice once more for the Japanese team Sunday.

Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea will be back in pairs for the U.S., while Amber Glenn will replace Alysa Liu in the women’s free skate.

“We’re really excited to cheer on our team,” Chock said. “I think our team is incredibly strong, arguably the strongest it’s ever been, and I have the utmost faith in them, and I’ll be proud of them no matter what the outcome is.”

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AP Olympic coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics