The Quad God is back on top: Ilia Malinin (USA) skated off with his third World title and he did it Malinin-style in what was a thrilling Men’s Free Skating at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 Saturday in Prague, Czechia. The capacity crowd of more than 15,000 spectators at the O2 Arena were treated to an amazing competition.

Ilia Malinin earns third consecutive World title

Malinin skated to his third consecutive World title with almost 23 points to spare. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama rose from sixth place to claim his fourth World silver medal while his teammate Shun Sato earned the bronze, his first World medal.

The stadium went quiet with anticipation when Malinin took the ice as the last skater. The US Champion opened his performance with a huge quad flip and followed up with a triple Axel, quad Lutz and two more clean quadruple jumps and level-four spins. The crowd went wild when he landed his trademark backflip. Malinin scored 218.11 points for the Free Skating and racked up 329.40 points to win.

Ilia Malinin (USA) thrilled the crowd with his trademark backflip on the way to winning his third successive ISU World Championship gold © ISU

“It was very awesome. I enjoyed every single part of it and I’m so glad to be here,” Malinin said.

“It feels really different, because going into this competition I had no expectations. I wanted to just come out here, enjoy the atmosphere and enjoy the environment of the figure skating world, and you don't really care if I have won or lost.

“The crowd really went crazy. Starting from the warm-up I definitely think it's one of the best World Championships I have experienced, and I think that's because the sport is really starting to grow and develop and really starting to become more and more popular.

“I'm really looking forward to how figure skating is going to look in the next few years,” he added.

Kagiyama turns sixth place into silver

Kagiyama stood in sixth in the Short Program and had nothing to lose. The two-time Olympic silver medalist turned in a fantastic performance to Christopher Tin’s “Turandot Finale” that was highlighted by three quadruple and six triple jumps as well as by difficult footwork.

The Japanese Champion set a new personal best with 212.87 points in the Free Skating points and pulled up to second at 306.67 points.

Big jumps and difficult footwork helped Yuma Kagiyama (JPN) set a personal best to climb from sixth to second in the Free Skate © ISU

“I was able to fully express myself and had a lot of fun,” Kagiyama noted. “I have been frustrated for about a season because I could not be satisfied with my free skate.

“I am really happy that in the final event of my Olympic season, which could also be considered my swan song, I was able to do something that made me satisfied.

“Today's good performance feels like a small reward,” he continued.

“Of course, first of all, I am skating for myself to deliver the best performance that I can be satisfied with, but also for my father and the people watching me. It is good that everyone was satisfied with that part.”

Sato fires to first World Championships medal

Performing to “Firebird”, Sato flew high and landed three quads to score 192.70 points in the Free Skating. The reigning Olympic bronze medalist accumulated 288.54 points overall to add his first World medal to his resume.

Shun Sato (JPN) joined teammate Kagiyama on the podium to mark a successful end to what he called a long season © ISU

“It’s been a very long season. I’m glad I am being able to end it on such a high note. This program is one of my favorites,” Sato commented.

“I find my own points of growth at every competition. I use this experience to see what I have to improve and to do better. 

"I am aware of having good technical content, but my GOEs are not as high as other top skaters have. Moreover, I still need to improve my component score. So that is going to by my goal for the next season."

Kagiyama, Malinin and Sato proudly show off their ISU World Championship medals © ISU

Stephen Gogolev (CAN) continued his ascent to place fourth in his World Championships debut with another personal best performance to Sergei Rakhmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. He scored 281.04 points. Two-time ISU European Champion Adam Siao Him Fa (FRA) slipped from second to fifth after some falling on a quad Lutz (271.56 points). Aleksandr Selevko (EST) came sixth with a solid performance on 270.42 points. 

Find more comments from the skaters in the Quick Quotes and Press Conference section on the ISU Website.

What and when

The schedule of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 is as follows:

Wednesday, March 25:      Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Thursday, March 26:          Men’s Short Program & Pairs Free Skating
Friday, March, 27:  Rhythm Dance & Women’s Free Skating 
Saturday, March 28:     Men’s Free Skating & Free Dance
Sunday, March 29:            Exhibition Gala & ISU Figure Skating Awards

A total of 173 Skaters representing 39 countries have been entered for the Championships: 39 Men, 33 Women, 21 Pairs and 31 Ice Dance couples. Prague hosts the ISU World Championships for the third  time after 1993 and 1962.

For more information, full entry lists and results, visit the ISU event page of the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 and the official event website.  Follow the discussion on social media using #WorldFigure and #FigureSkating. 

Where to watch the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026

Find all the relevant information about watching the ISU Figure Skating World in the Where to Watch news.

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