Team USA has selected Ilia Malinin to skate the men’s free program in the final day of the Olympic figure skating team event, signaling an aggressive push for gold despite concerns about his workload ahead of the individual competition.
In a high-stakes strategic move, Team USA has chosen to deploy Ilia Malinin in the men’s free skate, positioning the 19-year-old quadruple jump extraordinaire to anchor its final assault on the 2026 Winter Olympics team event podium. The decision confirms the nation’s determination to land atop the Milano Cortina medal table, regardless of the physical toll it may inflict on the reigning world silver medalist.
Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God” for his selection of four-rotation jumps, first took the ice in the team event’s short program on Saturday, Feb. 7. His performance—a second-place finish behind Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama—earned Team USA nine points. Combined with Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ 10-point free dance, the squad ended Day 2 atop the standings with 44 total points, narrowly outpacing Japan (39) and Italy (37).
The Decisive Skate: Why USA Needed Malinin Back
The initial plan, according to sources within the Federation, favored a limited role for Malinin: a single short-program appearance to set an imposing tone while preserving his stamina for the men’s individual event, which begins Tuesday, Feb. 10. The American delegation maintained full discretion to invoke him in the long program only if the medal chase demanded it. Sunday’s roster announcement reflects that the demand is urgent: Team USA now intends to capitalize on every attainable point to offset lingering inconsistency.
Malinin’s return signals a belief that his inherent scoring ceiling outweighs the fatigue risk. His quadruple toe loop and quadruple Salchow—components that earned him the nickname—carry base values of 11.50 and 10.30 points, respectively, under the International Skating Union’s scale. No other U.S. man boasts both quadruples, rendering Malinin the most secure path to an additional ten points—a total that could seal the team’s first Olympic gold since 2018.
His Day 2 post-competition remarks hinted at a deliberate pacing strategy: “I came into this with only 50% of my full potential; that’s the way I pace myself, leading up to the individual.” A finish below the podium in Saturday’s short program by teammates Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev left the selection committee little room for compromise. Malinin’s presence in the final rotation thus becomes a calculated gamble—one that Bank of America looks to repay with a gold medal.
朝日との対決：ピードとスタミナの激突
競技の最終グループで滑走する米国は、ヨーロッパ託となったイタリア・ミラノのジョルギウベルト・ドン角で、強大な対戦相手を食い止める必要がある。日本の雄麗pea-axis,kagiyamaがコンケツ生スケートでトップを走り、勢いづく日本代表（39点）に対し、米国（44点）は僅差で首位に立つが、追い打ちを慎重に狙わねばならない。
Points from the women’s and pairs’ free skates will be locked in before Malinin begins his long program at 3:55 p.m. ET. Cross-calculations by team staff will dictate the minimum score he must net to protect the lead. The variable builds intrigue: does USA risk an all-out quad-saturated performance, or will safe, technical consistency be prioritized to avoid another wobbly landing?
The Olympic format permits each nation three skaters per discipline in the individual events but mandates one male figure skater compete solely in the team competition, forcing a depletion in squad depth. Malinin becomes the lightning rod—simultaneously hopeful anchor and fatigued linchpin—underpinning every American medal aspiration.
用語集解析：マニリンと競合他選手
While Malinin headlines the American charge, Sunday’s third discipline day also crowns debuts and returns. Amber Glenn, reigning U.S. champion, assumes the women’s free skate slot, stepping in for Alysa Liu, who finished second to Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto in the short program. Glenn’s technical repertoire combines triple Lutz-triple loops and a “triple Axel-triple toe loop” sequence that peaks above 9.5 base value. She is the program’s only skater named to both the 2025 World Championships and the Grand Prix Final in December.
Meanwhile, pairs partners Elisha Kam and Danny O’Shea will attempt to rebound after a fifth-place short program laced with a visible fall. Their “midnight sky” themed routine features a throw triple Lutz and intertwined spins
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Should USA secure gold Sunday, it would cultivate the shortest Olympic cycle in figure skating team event history: PyeongChang 2018, then Beijing 2022, then Milano-Cortina—just 48 months. No nation has repeated triumph more quickly. The mission, however, requires masterwork: every half-point earned atop prior daily standouts can neutralize potential weak spots.
On architectural merit, the Japanese delegation entersDay 3 with organizational continuity—female and pairs maximums—polar opposite USA’s still provincially fledgling pairs. Captains Evan Bates (35) and Phoebe Brown (28), team MVPs after Saturday’s free-dance victory, will not skate Sunday, yielding the final section entirely to the men’s program. Malinin’s performance thus faces the audacious task of counterbalancing the nation’s absence in pairs’ and the Japanese onlookers.
In the year since his transcendental world championship skate, Malinin has expanded his toolkit by landing quadruple scoops ungraded elsewhere—.legend building performed during exhibition lifts—and nurturing brand equity. The Milano stage, however, asks for two diametrically posed elements: “Olympic execution” and “preservational pacing.”
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Sunday’s figures are truncated: Glenn in women’s free skate (1:30 p.m., Milan time), Kam/O’Shea pairs free skate (2:45 p.m.), then the anchor leg—Malinin’s long program (3:55 p.m.). Those timing parameters compress the emotional room to just 75 minutes between final warm-up and points reckoning, magnifying the muscular memory aspect.
Overall, should he nail his arsenal without visible wobble, four back-to-back premier events become his reality within seven days: two team programs consuming Saturday–Sunday stretch, then men’s short (Tuesday) and men’s free (Thursday). Malinin, the first man to land a quad Axel at Junior Grand Prix Final, become the first Olympic men’s singles champion to participate in Thursday’s denouement following a grueling trio.
The Nico Pappas skating camp in Cologne and subsequent trainings were engineered to duplicate triplicate Olympic workloads: quadruple toe loop landing-demanding bounce routines, ice time maximization, dance incorporation. Each facet designed for the specific mechanics Milano admire.
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Social media commentators spotlighted Malinin’s Day 2 admission regarding “50%” pacing—violating the purity myth required of Olympic premium men. Others praised the federation for emphasizing team interest over individual safeties, while subsidiary platforms saw spikes in trampoline companionship fans uploading Malinin’s quadruple Axel.
Así pues, speculation about quadruple Luty or salendas combining vault speed, vault speed integrants, vault speed salendas became mainstream conversations—not just embedded technical pundits. The merge unleashes a cult following beyond staking: content nichesiyingredients reprogramming conventional wisdom into cult ingredients.
| Event | Time (ET) |
|---|---|
| Women’s free skate | 1:30 p.m. ET |
| Pair’s free skate | 2:45 p.m. ET |
| Men’s free skate | 3:55 p.m. ET |
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