Ilia Malinin silenced any doubters of the self-styled “Quad God” on Tuesday night, when the American wunderkind threw down a near-perfect short program filled with high-flying jumps and a jaw-dropping backflip to take a big lead at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
The two-time reigning world champion was rewarded with 108.16 points for his program, set to music from the action-adventure video game “Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown.” Yuma Kagiyama of Japan was second with 103.07 points, but that five-point difference going into the free skate is enormous given the huge technical advantage Malinin has over a longer program.
