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- Jul 17, 2018
I heartily agree with one thing here—I’d love to see Japan give more support to, and invest more in, Shun Sato. He’s had a great season, he keeps improving, and he outskated Yuma Kagiyama here. That is a huge achievement.
2025 Worlds: Men's thoughts and comments
- Thread starter gsk8
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- Jan 28, 2013
I didn't enjoy the music for either of his programs, although the short grew on me after a while. I never warmed up to the long. But you know who DID like that music? Ilia Malinin. He believed in that program, and he committed to it. After seeing so many inauthentic programs over the years, I have to applaud a skater for being himself even if it's not my cup of tea.
It's a shame about the popped lutz, because I know he wanted a perfect program so badly, and he'd already landed that troublesome loop. But here's the deal - when he popped that jump, I gasped because I was so surprised. He skates with such power and confidence that I'm surprised when he makes a major mistake. I contrast that with virtually every other skater... all of whom I hold my breath when they enter a difficult element.
I want to commend Yuma for his fighting spirit and push back on the armchair therapists who question his mental fortitude. OK, sure, the LP was a mess, but let's not forget the short. Ilia had just excited the ice to a thunderous ovation and eye-popping score that gave him a 15-point lead with only himself to go. In that moment, he knew he had to skate a brilliant program, just to keep it close and give himself a chance. That had to be extreme pressure. And did he deliver!
He needs to focus on staying healthy and doing nonsense like that will get him hurt. He's unbeatable as is why push your luck? I wish he'd stop with the backflips too.
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- Jan 28, 2013
I'm one of those who thinks he might go for 4/4 next year. He's said numerous times that he wants to continue to "up himself."
On the other hand, I recall an interview clip from somewhere that indicated he wanted to be perfect at the Olympics and then "go ham" afterwards.
It's their theory, but I don't think it's necessarily true. He doesn't need a hugely dynamic step sequence in the middle, but just a little break. If Adam can have a full lie-down and another mini cig break in his free skate, so can Ilia. In any case, I think it will also depend on the music edits that he will have for next year.
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- Mar 7, 2015
Of course, it may only be their hypothesis and nobody will ever confirm that either way. I thought I'd share it because it's interesting, isn't it ? Also, correct me if I am wrong, last year's program was also designed that way. Roman has stamina issues : In the SP he just goes for the three jumping passes. No steps. No spins. He doesn't get a 10% bonus. It's his best way to manage that. I think he is the only skater who doesn't go for a 2-1 split and doesn't get that bonus. Granted, he is a giant and he is quite the spinner, so this must require a lot of energy for him. In the LP, he obviously splits the program 4/3 but i think he does have a slower section in the middle... If I recall correctly, he also tends to put the last three elements as spins... not sure he did this for this year but he did a number of years. So skaters know what they need.
Now, about Adam, a lot of people have commented on that. I actually like that he is daring to do this, lay down on the ice, and follow the music heartbeats. It's different. It's original... also, I am not so sure it requires no energy to get down on the ice and get back up lol... and then start skating again from nothing... a lot of skaters mention getting back up from a fall and restarting the engine is actually very demanding... so even though this is not a fall for Adam, he still has to restart his skating. I wouldn't call it a cig break. He is not posing or just doing crossovers for half the program either.
Artistically I thought it was a very dull competition. Now that the novelty of those jump elements has worn off, I felt very indifferent about these programs and didn't care who wins, who lands which quads, who gets a medal . Usually Kagiyama makes those competitions still worth watching, but this time he didn't. I also didn't care much about Aymoz' and Brown's program to be honest, it's just the same always. Overall a pretty disappointing competition for me.
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- Jun 21, 2003
One way to look at it is this: Once you stop moving forward, the only direction to go is backward. In the 1948 Olympics Dick Button needed something to make the judges sit and take notice. He brought a double Axel, a never-before-seen feat of technique and athlticism. Four years later, he needed to keep on moving forward. He came up a triple loop.
Ilia does have the option of inching forward in small increments in therms of choreography, etc., but this will not significantly increase or even maintain his current lead over the field. Who knows what Shaidorov will be capable of next year (not to mention the political influence off he powerful Kazakhstan Skating Federation). Other youthful aspirants are diligently practicing their tquad Axels even as we speak.
Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if Ilia, even at this young age, has a further vision of his legacy than just an Olympic gold medal. There have been 21 men's gold medalists already, and next year, rain or shine, there will be 22 even if everyone in the competition bombs. A few of the 21 are memorable, like Gillis Graftstrom and Yuzuru Hanyu, but many are not.
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- Jun 21, 2003
I agree except for Jason Brown. If he is "always the same" it is because he is following his own unique path. Think about it. How many male figure skaters can do a quad. A thousand? Same old Jason is netter than all of them except three (he got 4th in the LP at the 2025 world championships
).
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- Jan 17, 2022
From what I've seen, I liked Deniss best. Jason was also good but his music is not my cup of tea. Deniss performed the hell out of his program.
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- Nov 29, 2018
For all the 'haters' who only say that Ilia does jumps, they didn't see his gorgeous (introspective, perfect, beautiful) Gala program. It brought me to tears.....and for the first time, I saw Ilia in tears afterwards.
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- Nov 29, 2018
I really miss Papadakis and Cizeron. BTW, they won four World Championships! And, whatever they really thought of each other, their programs were innovative and on a beautiful, different level.
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- Jan 25, 2013
People are entitled to their opinions of course, but I just have to chuckle and shake my head at the constant attempts to trivialize what Ilia is doing to push the sport, and Shaidorov as well.
Shaidorov was a masterclass in jumping - that 3A+Eu+4S was superb, and his other quads were so well done (especially the lutz).
And Ilia landed ALL six types of quads cleanly (and yes, a q is "clean" before anyone goes there). I remember when Kihira, as a junior, landed the first 8-triple skate and folks were like "her skating could improve". Everyone's a critic I guess. I'm not a fan of Ilia's freeskate, but who cares. He landed all 6 quads. Yes, he did a double lutz (after already landing a quad lutz), and put a foot down on a triple axel (after having already landed a quad axel). Quad flip and lutz in the SP too. The guy landed EIGHT quads in this competition, and that's not notable?!
Oh, but his artistry leaves much to be desired and his PCS is inflated (as if he wouldn't have still won with 40 and 70 PCS). Those are just saving graces for people who dislike him.
I have to ask, what is even the point of watching an elite competition if going into it, you're going to dismiss skaters who put on a technical masterclass but whom you already know don't have the best choreo or artistry?! You knew going into it that these skaters' strengths were in their technical ability primarily - so why even watch if you knew they wouldn't deliver the artistry that makes a skater's performance worthwhile to you? It would be like saying "Alysa Liu doesn't have an ultra-C planned... so not really worth watching her skate." It would be shortsighted to dismiss Jason Brown who doesn't even attempt a quad.
Anyways, I thought this was a pretty well skated competition and while not every man delivered technically and not everyone delivered artistically there were those who did each, and the top group had some excellent highlights - including some "firsts" for the sport, at Worlds. So that in itself is a win.
Shaidorov was a masterclass in jumping - that 3A+Eu+4S was superb, and his other quads were so well done (especially the lutz).
And Ilia landed ALL six types of quads cleanly (and yes, a q is "clean" before anyone goes there). I remember when Kihira, as a junior, landed the first 8-triple skate and folks were like "her skating could improve". Everyone's a critic I guess. I'm not a fan of Ilia's freeskate, but who cares. He landed all 6 quads. Yes, he did a double lutz (after already landing a quad lutz), and put a foot down on a triple axel (after having already landed a quad axel). Quad flip and lutz in the SP too. The guy landed EIGHT quads in this competition, and that's not notable?!
Oh, but his artistry leaves much to be desired and his PCS is inflated (as if he wouldn't have still won with 40 and 70 PCS). Those are just saving graces for people who dislike him.
I have to ask, what is even the point of watching an elite competition if going into it, you're going to dismiss skaters who put on a technical masterclass but whom you already know don't have the best choreo or artistry?! You knew going into it that these skaters' strengths were in their technical ability primarily - so why even watch if you knew they wouldn't deliver the artistry that makes a skater's performance worthwhile to you? It would be like saying "Alysa Liu doesn't have an ultra-C planned... so not really worth watching her skate." It would be shortsighted to dismiss Jason Brown who doesn't even attempt a quad.
Anyways, I thought this was a pretty well skated competition and while not every man delivered technically and not everyone delivered artistically there were those who did each, and the top group had some excellent highlights - including some "firsts" for the sport, at Worlds. So that in itself is a win.
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- Oct 26, 2016
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I second all of this. Ilia has his own thing and he does it incredibly well. He IS a performer. He may not have Jason's blade control and skating skill, but to say he's just a jumping machine is, IMO, incorrect. He is a true entertainer out there and you can see he feels the music he is skating to. And, oh my goodness, that gala performance was beautiful.
Jason is Jason - and will always be my favorite. He's MORE than just a beautiful performer. He is as extraordinary a skater as Ilia is a jumper. I really don't think there is anyone else (and I LOVE Jun and Deniss,) who can do what he does on the ice. .
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- Nov 5, 2011
Will be interesting to see if he sticks around after the Olympics especially if he wins. I am skeptical.
Yep, he had the step sequence in the middle last year. It was his little "break" that bought him time to the second half, and even though it's a technical element that he needs to focus on, it at least gave him some mental space to breathe before he launched into the second half.
Yes, he didn't get a deduction, so brilliant for him to lie down. It does make the choreo stand out even though I think it's so lazy-looking, lol. The other cig break I refer to is actually a little later after the lie-down where he does just stand there and do some arm poses.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
you and i will have to agree to disagree on Adam's choreography. It is packed with stuff... so I'd give him a pass even if he took his phone to check his email midway.
Totally agree though I think everyone recognizes that Ilia and Misha were the clear 1-2 here by the rules of competition.
I said some months back that Ilia was the first of a new technical generation whereas everyone else was in the previous generation except for Shaidorov, who had one foot straddling both generations due to his new combos but still "only" 4 quads. I hope for Misha to really start to challenge Ilia next year, because 1) it's good for figure skating, and 2) it's good for Ilia. Not that Ilia needs any motivation really, but it will make him work even harder on his own technical issues. When I saw Misha start to break out in the fall, I thought, "Wow, wouldn't it be incredible if it went Ilia-Misha-Japan at the Olympics like in 2022 Junior Worlds?" I had visions of them celebrating together, and so when I saw them embrace after the LP, I was like oh man, it's already happening! (I also wonder how Tsuboi feels being in 21st place compared to his 2022 podium partners. :/ )
I think that even if Ilia wins the Olympics, he will stick around for another 1-2 years, maybe even through to 2030, though his technical abilities will not last as long as that. He does have some lofty goals that he wants to accomplish, the 4-4 being one of them and the quint, of course. The quint is gonna be his white whale in the way that the quad axel was for Yuzuru, and then some young up-and-comer snatches it from him before he knows it. But Ilia seems like the type of guy who wouldn't mind if someone else reached those goals first and would just be happy that someone else is also trying to reach new heights.
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- Sep 22, 2019
I agree, though I also appreciate that Misha is sort of following his own goals with the +quad combos. It doesn't have a base value advantage, but it's cool to have as a trademark. Still, I'm most impressed by his 3T in a panda suit
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