ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA) once again was in a class of his own and mined gold at Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (CAN), setting a new record score in the Free Skating on Sunday. With two victories on the circuit, Malinin is the first man to assure his spot in the ISU Grand Prix Final. 

Ilia Malinin (USA) incredible again

Two-time and reigning ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA) did it again: The 'Quad God' put out a phenomenal performance to take gold with 76 points to spare, setting a new record score for the Free Skating en route. Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia claimed the silver, the first Grand Prix medal for an Estonian male skater, while Kao Miura of Japan rose from fourth to take the bronze. 

Performing to “The Ball”, “The Smell of the Sea” and “Code Duello”, Malinin reeled off six quadruple jumps:  flip, loop, two Lutzes, toe and Salchow plus two triple Axels, one in a sequence with the quad Salchow. The crowd at the SaskTel Centre roared for his backflip and dramatic footwork. The reigning ISU Grand Prix Final Champion netted 228.97 points and racked up 333.81 points, both were personal-best scores. 

“I think that it was one of the best programs I've done so far this season,” Malinin said. “After coming back from Grand Prix France, I really worked on just the cleanliness and feeling more confident on the ice and I definitely felt that today in my program.”

Ilia Malinin (USA) set a record score on his way to the gold medal at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

He gained confidence throughout the performance as well. 

“I think that as I started to settle in a bit, I would say specifically maybe after the third jump, I felt that it was really coming together. It almost felt like I was on autopilot and everything was just happening one element after the other and I felt really confident even going into that second half,” the 20-year-old described. “Of course in my personal opinion it wasn't perfect, there's always more to add to the program. I know that hopefully that record can be even higher.”

Aleksandr Selevko (EST) picked up a first ISU Grand Prix medal for Estonia at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

Selevko’s expressive performance to “Adagio for Strings and Storm” and “The Longest Night in Limbo” featured a quad Lutz and quad toe as well as a triple Axel but he fell on the second triple Axel. The Estonian posted a new season's best with 165.93 points for the Free Skating and with a personal best of 257.21 points total, he pulled up one spot to earn the silver. After winning Estonia’s first medal at the ISU European Championship in 2024 with silver, Selevko now became the first male skater from his country to win an ISU Grand Prix medal.

“Today was not perfect, but I am proud of my performance,” Selevko noted. “I'm really happy that this (first Grand Prix medal) happened, and when I came here, I didn't expect to be on the podium at all.”

Selevko currently has not been assigned to a second ISU Grand Prix event. 

Skating to “The Umbrellas of Cherbourg”, Miura produced a quad loop, quad Salchow and quad toe-triple toe but he struggled a bit with his triple Axel. Nevertheless, the 2023 ISU Four Continents Champion set a seasons best with 163.89 points and took bronze with 253.69 points, another seasons best. 

Kao Miura (JPN) is feeling confident for the future after his third place at Skate Canada 2025 in Saskatoon, Canada © ISU

“I'm very happy. I'm happy to be sort of released from my nightmarish Grand Prix of France,” Miura noted referring to his unsuccessful performance in Angers two weeks ago. 

“It's been almost a year since I was able to do a good free program. So I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel. This performance today was one that I hadn't sort of experienced in a long time. I was able to have fun.”

Kazuki Tomono (JPN) slipped from second to fourth place after some errors (251.46 points), while Nika Egadze (GEO) moved up from eighth place to come fifth (247.95 points). Nikolaj Memola (ITA) remained in sixth place at 238.20 points.

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada International is as follows:

Friday, October 31: Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Saturday, November 1: Rhythm Dance, Men’s Short Program, Women’s & Pairs Free Skating
Sunday, November 2: Men’s Free Skating, Free Dance

ISU Grand Prix Standings

Check out who is on their way to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final:

Men                               Women                    Pairs                      Ice Dance

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.

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Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:

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

5. 17 - 19 Oct 2025                       Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
6. 24 - 26 Oct 2025                       Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
7. 31 Oct-2 Nov 2025                   Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (CAN)
8. 07 - 9 Nov 2025                        NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN)
9. 14- 16 Nov 2025                       Skate America in Lake Placid (USA)  
10. 21 - 23 Nov 2025                      Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)  

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 

5. 04 - 07 Dec 2025                        Nagoya (JPN)