> At a Glance
> – Ilia Malinin captured his fourth consecutive U.S. figure skating crown with 324.88 points
> – Madison Chock & Evan Bates set a record seventh U.S. ice-dance title
> – Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov likely punched their Olympic tickets
> Why it matters: This weekend decided the American squad heading to Milan Cortina 2026
Ilia Malinin closed the last national championships before the Milan Cortina Olympics with a dialed-back yet dominant display, landing only three quads but still outclassed the field.
Malinin’s Measured Masterpiece
The 21-year-old world champion opened with a quad flip, followed by a triple axel, then opted for a triple lutz instead of the planned quad. He later added a quad lutz and a quad salchow-triple axel combination, earning yet another standing ovation.
Malinin’s scaled-down program still totaled 324.88 points, extending an unbeaten streak that stretches back more than two years.
> “I decided not to go for any risks. I wanted to play it safe, because hopefully in a few weeks I have to go again,” Malinin said.
Ice Dance Dynasty
Madison Chock & Evan Bates won a record-setting seventh U.S. title with a flamenco-style free dance set to a version of the Rolling Stones’ “Paint It Black” from the dystopian sci-fi Western show Westworld.
The three-time reigning world champions finished with 228.87 points, making them heavy favorites for gold next month in Italy.
| Team | Score |
|---|---|
| Chock & Bates | 228.87 |
| Zingas & Kolesnik | 213.65 |
| Carreira & Ponomonenko | 206.95 |
Olympic Dreams
Andrew Torgashev finished second with a season-best free skate totaling 267.62 points, while Maxim Naumov earned bronze with 249.16 points and may have fulfilled the wishes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
> “I gritted my teeth on everything. I fought on everything. If I had to crawl, I would crawl to the end,” Naumov said, “but I made it.”
Key Takeaways
- Malinin heads to Milan as the overwhelming favorite
- Chock & Bates enter Italy as three-time reigning world champions
- Torgashev and Naumov likely secured the other two American men’s spots
The U.S. Figure Skating team will announce the squad heading to Italy on Sunday.
