Reigning ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA) captured his second ISU Grand Prix Final crown as the competition in Grenoble (FRA) wrapped up Saturday with an exciting Men’s Free Skating full of suspense. 

Malinin wins crowd and second gold

ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA) captured his second ISU Grand Prix Final title. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama claimed the silver medal while his teammate Shun Sato moved up one spot to earn the bronze. 

Malinin had the crowd in the Pole Sud on his side the second he stepped on to the ice. The reigning World Champion went for his famous and unique quad Axel in his Vampire program and the crowd roared. 

Malinin went for all the other quads – Lutz, Flip, Salchow, toeloop and loop - and is the first to attempt six different types of quad and only quads, a total of seven, in one program. However, he lost points on under-rotations and fell on a quad Lutz. As a result, the Skate America Champion ranked second in the Free Skating but remained first overall at 292.12 points.

Ilia Malinin (USA) became the first skater to attempt six types of quad in a program; he fell on the Lutz to rank second in the Free Skate but took a comfortable gold © ISU

“Going into Grand Prix Final I wanted to challenge myself with my technical ability as well as try to incorporate the artistry that I've been working on through the past few seasons,” Malinin said.

“I think it was a kind of a challenge for me to want to come out here and try to put everything into one program and see how it goes.”

“It was not what I wanted but I am still proud of myself. I try to create something new even though at the very beginning it can look weird and unsure. The biggest challenge is to try to make everything consistent and as clean as possible and to put technical aspects and artistry together,” Malinin continued. 

“I will get home and play around with the elements and will figure out what is the content for Worlds is going to be.” 

Kagiyama opened his Flamenco program with a quad flip but then doubled the Salchow. The 2022 Olympic silver medalist rallied to produce a quad toe-triple toe and quad toe as well four more triples to win the Free Skating segment with 188.29 points. His total of 281.78 points was enough to take the silver, his second medal in the event after a bronze a year ago.

Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) took first place in the Free Skate with his Flamenco program, revelling in the enthusiasm of the Grenoble crowd © ISU

“It’s actually the second time I came to Grenoble, so it was kind of nostalgic to come back here. The French public was very enthusiastic and it helped me enjoy even more performing here,” Kagiyama told the press. 

“I regret that even though I was able to do all the elements of my program during my training, I couldn’t do them as well as I wished today because I was so tense. I hope to learn to control my emotions better so not to be so tense,” he added.

Sato’s program to “Nostos“ featured three quads and two triple Axels, but he missed the quad flip. The Cup of China Champion scored 184.54 points which added up to 270.82 points. Sato pulled up one spot to take the bronze, his first medal in the ISU Grand Prix Final.

Shun Sato (JPN), returning to the Grand Prix Final after two years, climbed from fourth to third after the Free Skate to win his first medal in the showpiece event © ISU

“It’s been two years since I was in the final and I’m very happy with today’s performance,” Sato commented. 

“Because I failed during the short program, I tried to not care about it too much today. Today in my performance I did a high [quad] Lutz, which increased my score, so I’m happy with the results. 

“I think it’s a good experience and because the Japanese National Championships are coming up, I’d like to train well for it.”

Daniel Grassl (ITA) continued his successful comeback this season by placing fourth on 254.96 points. Mikhail Shaidorov (KAZ) became the first skater to land a triple Axel-Euler-quad Salchow combination, but it was slightly flawed and he slipped from third to fifth on 253.75 points. Kevin Aymoz (FRA) placed sixth and was proud to perform in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in the ice rink where he has trained since he started skating (238.63 points).

For full entries, results and further information visit the ISU Grand Prix Final event site.

What and when 

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final is as follows:

Thursday, December 5: Junior Pairs, Junior Women’s Short Programs, Junior Ice Dance Rhythm Dance, Pairs & Women’s Short Programs
Friday, December 6: Junior Men’s Short Program, Junior Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Men’s Short Program    
Saturday, December 7: Women’s & Junior Men’s Free Skating, Junior Free Dance, Junior Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, December 10: Exhibition Gala

How did Skaters qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final? 

Skaters/Couples competed in two events and collected points towards the qualification for the Final. Check out the complete ISU Grand Prix Standings:

Women             Men     Pair Skating     Ice Dance

For further information see the General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series. Please visit the ISU Grand Prix page for full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series.

Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

• 18 - 20 Oct 2024                       Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
• 25 - 27 Oct 2024                       Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
• 01 - 03 Nov 2024                      Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
• 08 - 10 Nov 2024                      NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
• 15- 17 Nov 2024                       Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  
• 22 - 24 Nov 2024                      Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

• 05 - 08 Dec 2024                      Grenoble (FRA)

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.