U.S. figure skating star Malinin lands record 7 quadruple jumps to win 3rd straight Grand Prix Final

Ilia Malinin of the United States lived up to his reputation as the "The Quad God" on Saturday, winning his third straight figure skating Grand Prix Final and solidifying his place as the gold medal favorite at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.

A disappointing third after the short program, Malinin became the first skater to land seven quadruple jumps in competition for a record free skate score of 238.24 points and an overall total of 332.29 in Nagoya, Japan.

"This is one of the best skates I've ever had," Malinin said "I went out on the ice and I had to fight for every single element and I was so glad I was able to do that in front of the Japanese crowd."

Among the quad jumps he landed was a quadruple axel and a quad loop.

3rd straight Grand Prix men's skating title for American Malinin

Before the free skate, Malinin said he was thinking about attempting six quads on Saturday. He went one better.

"The Grand Prix Final is a place for me to try new things and new elements to give myself an understanding of what is possible especially this year with the Olympics," Malinin said. "So I decided I wanted to go all out and give myself a foundation of what (my program) could look like."

Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, who led after the short program, took the silver medal with 302.41 points while his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato was third with 292.08.

Malinin, who hasn't lost a competition in more than two years, is the two-time and reigning world champion and the three-time Grand Prix Final champion.

He said his win on Saturday is a big confidence boost heading into his Olympic debut in February.

"It gives me a lot of confidence that I am able to go out there and get this done," Malinin said. "I will take the