Figure skating-Malinin crushes own record to win Grand Prix Final, Liu wins women's title

NAGOYA, Japan, Dec 6 : Double world champion Ilia Malinin shattered his own world record for the men's singles free programme to win gold at the Grand Prix Final on Saturday, setting the bar sky high ahead of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The 21-year-old American landed a jaw-dropping seven quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel - a jump only he has landed in competition - to score 238.24 points, crushing the previous world-best 228.97 points he recorded at Skate Canada International earlier in the season.

Reigning world champion Alysa Liu of the U.S. won the women's singles title after Mone Chiba of Japan, the leader after Friday's short programme, fell twice in an error-filled free skate.

Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates triumphed in their first on-ice meeting with newly-formed French duo Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron to win the ice dance.

Malinin, known as the "Quad God", had started the day in an unfamiliar position in third after Friday's short programme after a risky quad Axel-triple toe loop combination backfired.

But the huge score from his free programme, entitled "The Voice" and featuring his own voiceover, saw him climb to gold with 332.29, just shy of American Nathan Chen's world record of 335.30.

Yuma Kagiyama of Japan took the silver with 302.41 points while Japanese compatriot Shun Sato was third with 292.08.

Italy's Daniel Grassl, who finished fourth, summed up everyone's feelings when he comically bowed down before Malinin, who will now head to Milano Cortina as the huge favourite in his Olympic debut.

Liu added another chapter to her remarkable comeback after stepping away from competition for two seasons. She landed seven triple jumps in a virtually flawless programme to Donna