World champion Ilia Malinin won Skate America on Sunday for the third consecutive year, altering his free skate on the fly after an early mistake and punctuating the program with a backflip that had been banned in competition until this season.
The two-time and reigning U.S. champion scored 290.12 points to finish ahead of Kevin Aymoz of France, whose career-best free skate left him with 282.88 points and earned a standing ovation inside Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen, Texas.
Kao Miura of Japan, who was second after his short program, finished third with 278.67 points.
"It was a pretty challenging moment for me, just stepping on the ice. I felt way more nervous than usual," said Malinin, the early favourite for gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy. "That may have played a part in the whole program."
Vancouver's Wesley Chiu placed ninth in the free skate with a score of 140.08 points, he finished ninth overall with a total of 206.94 points.
The ice dance competition was to be decided later Sunday in the final event of the season-opening Grand Prix. Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Britain had the lead over American world champs Madison Chock and Evan Bates after the rhythm dance.
WATCH: Malinin skates to 3rd straight title:
Malinin skates to 3rd consecutive Skate America title
Malinin and Miura were separated by a mere 0.15 points after their short programs, but it was Aymoz who challenged Malinin for the top of the podium. The 27-year-old from France, who struggled mightily at the end of last season, landed a pair of quads in an error-free program to score 190.84 points — the best of all the free skates — and vault into first place.
Nika Egadze of Georgia was next on the ice but fell on his opening
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