Ilia Malinin bounced back from his Winter Olympic disappointment by leading after the short program at the figure skating world championships in Prague on Thursday. The defending two-time world champion, known as the Quad God, scored a personal-best 111.29 points at the O2 Arena.
Malinin, sporting a new haircut, opened with a quad flip and a combination of quad lutz and triple toe loop. He performed only a triple version of his trademark quad axel, the only jump he has successfully landed in competition.
French skater Adam Siao Him Fa scored 101.85 points with a perfect quad toe loop in combination with a triple toe loop plus a quad salchow. Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko surprised in third with a personal best 96.49.
Malinin helped the US win team gold in Milan and was heavily favoured for individual gold after leading by five points in the short program. However, he fell twice and made other mistakes in the free skate, dropping from first to eighth. The 21-year-old said he succumbed to pressure at his first Games, with negative thoughts flooding his mind.
Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan is skipping this week's competition. Malinin will take a lead of more than nine points into Saturday's free skate.
