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“Quad God” Ilia Malinin (USA) once more did his nickname justice, jumping to his second-straight World title Saturday at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 in Boston (USA). It was an electric atmosphere at the sold-out TD Garden, with 13,000 spectators going wild as the skaters put on one amazing performance after another. 

Malinin (USA) claims back-to-back titles  

Ilia Malinin (USA) made the home crowd in Boston proud when he skated off with his second-straight gold medal with 31 points to spare. Rising star Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan soared to silver, while Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama settled for bronze. 

Malinin skated last and he knew what the crowd wanted to see. The “Quad God” gave them just that, landing a quad Axel and five more quadruple jumps, including the quad loop that had escaped him all season.
 

Ilia Malinin (USA) recorded season's best scores on Saturday to win his second-straight title at the ISU World Championships © ISU

When the 20-year-old went all out during his energetic step sequence in his performance to “I’m Not a Vampire”, the crowd roared. The quad Axel and a quad toe were slightly under-rotated — and Malinin popped a planned quad Lutz into a double, which cost some points — but the victory was never in doubt. 

The US Champion achieved a season's best score of 208.15 points to rack up 318.56 points overall. 

“I feel very relieved that I was able to put out that performance the way I tried,” Malinin said. “It was not what I ideally wanted, but I fought for every element and I really tried to skate every element until the end. I was happy I was able to finally land the quad loop this season.

“I always try to stick to my plan and give it the worst-case scenario in my head. Just in case something goes wrong, I can always change it up. I wasn't really thinking about defending the title, but it's always on my mind to get the best result. I try to go for a good, consistent, clean skate, then the results should come.”

The crowd helped.

“The energy in the arena was impressive,” he said. “It was so wild and chaotic and it really just helped me get through the rest of the program.” 

Shaidorov ended his breakthrough year on a high note. Skating to epic versions of “Moonlight Sonata” and “Take On Me”, his performance was epic as well. The ISU Four Continents Champion reeled off his triple Axel-Euler-quad Salchow combination, as well as three more quads.
 

Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) claimed a silver medal Saturday, after finishing 14th at the ISU World Championships 2024 © ISU

Although Shaidorov was in medal position for the first time at an ISU World Championships, he kept his nerves under control. At the end of the program he dropped to the ice, overwhelmed by emotions and taking it all in. 

“If someone had told me at the beginning of the season that I would be on the World podium, I’d never have believed that,”  the 20-year-old from Almaty said. “This season was difficult and at the same time it was a breakthrough for me.” 

Kagiyama ran into trouble right away in his passionate flamenco routine when he doubled a planned quad flip.
 

Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) finished 10th in the Free Skating to slip to third overall at the ISU World Championships © ISU

The quad toe-double toe was good, but a few other jumps were shaky and the three-time World silver medalist ranked only 10th in the Free Skating segment with 171.10 points. Thanks to his strong Short Program, he held on to the bronze medal at 278.19 points. 

“My biggest concern was the Olympic spots,” Kagiyama said. “We really wanted to get three spots and I am so relieved to achieve it. Because the first jump set the tone, I was rushing and made a mistake. After that, it was an uphill battle. Because of my teammate’s stellar effort and my Short Program, we were able to secure three spots and that was a big relief.” 

“Comeback kid” Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) rose to fourth place from ninth with his captivating “Dune” program. He was ranked third in the Free Skating, but missed the podium by two-and-a-half points (275.48 points).
 

Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) was third in the Free Skating, but was unable to climb higher than fourth after finishing ninth in the Short Program  © ISU

ISU Grand Prix finalist Kevin Aymoz (FRA) placed fifth on 272.52 points. Shun Sato (JPN) was sixth in his ISU World Championship debut (270.56 points). 

Road to Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games

The 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston will serve as the primary qualification event for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina. The first quota places will be allocated during the World Championships in Boston and the remaining ones at the Olympic Qualifying competition in Beijing (CHN) from September 17-21, 2025 (read more here). 

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 is as follows:

Wednesday, March 26:  Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Thursday, March 27:  Men’s Short Program & Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March, 28:  Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, March 29:  Free Dance & Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, March 30:  Exhibition Gala & ISU Figure Skating Awards

A total of 190 Skaters representing 42 countries have been entered for the Championships: 39 Men, 33 Women, 23 Pairs and 36 Ice Dance couples. Boston hosts the ISU World Championships for the second time after 2016 and this the 14^th time that the USA are hosting the event.

For more information, full entry lists and results, visit the ISU event page of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025 and the official event website of the Championships. Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating.

Where to watch the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2025:

The ISU World Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news. 

Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.