2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Men's Free Skate | Page 46 | Golden Skate

2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Men's Free Skate

Ilia is such a humble and well mannered person and his skating is in my opinion some of the best ever in mens figure skating that I could experiece live. Don´t let yourself be clouded by watching in TV, this guy is just amazing on ice.
Humble? A person who called himself the Quad God is humble?
Edit: Yes, he did call himself a superstar in the K and C but to his credit he used his quadgod towel to wipe his face and then wadded it up and put it in his lap.
 
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Humble? A person who called himself the Quad God is humble?
Well he is doing Quads isn´t he?

This is the difference between actually experiencing someone in real life, than just reading some statements in the media. I am not saying this to offend you, you are very knowledgable in this sport and probably know a lot more about mens skating than me, but I have seen these skaters in a lot of different situations here for an entire week now, a lot of them backstage or during practice, in the warm up zone, interviews and they are very kind and friendly, always supporting each other, while also being very open about their daily struggles.

The press conferences with him, were truly showing a humble and kind person and I believe it is not wrong to be proud of your achievements in sports, sadly too many take this as arrogance. But achievements are something to be proud off if you ask me.

I don´t give much into gossip, I felt his programs were amazing and he was a real joy in the press room, that´s all. :wave:
 
Well he is doing Quads isn´t he?

This is the difference between actually experiencing someone in real life, than just reading some statements in the media. I am not saying this to offend you, you are very knowledgable in this sport and probably know a lot more about mens skating than me, but I have seen these skaters in a lot of different situations here for an entire week now, a lot of them backstage or during practice, in the warm up zone, interviews and they are very kind and friendly, always supporting each other, while also being very open about their daily struggles.

The press conferences with him, were truly showing a humble and kind person and I believe it is not wrong to be proud of your achievements in sports, sadly too many take this as arrogance. But achievements are something to be proud off if you ask me.

I don´t give much into gossip, I felt his programs were amazing and he was a real joy in the press room, that´s all. :wave:
Sounds like you had a wonderful experience in Prague. Good for you!

The "Quad God" thing really turned me off, but it's worth remembering that Ilia was younger when he said that. Teenage boys sometimes love to strut their stuff and, objectively speaking, in a way I can't blame him for being cocky -- he's spectacularly gifted and for a while he almost seemed invulnerable to falls and such. Talk about a recipe for a swelled head...

As I've said on another thread, I think the Olympics were a huge teachable moment for Ilia. It's tough to quantify but I sensed something different and stronger in his SP. More mature. There's more to him than the Quad God; hopefully we'll get to see that in the next few years.
 
Well he is doing Quads isn´t he?

This is the difference between actually experiencing someone in real life, than just reading some statements in the media. I am not saying this to offend you, you are very knowledgable in this sport and probably know a lot more about mens skating than me, but I have seen these skaters in a lot of different situations here for an entire week now, a lot of them backstage or during practice, in the warm up zone, interviews and they are very kind and friendly, always supporting each other, while also being very open about their daily struggles.

The press conferences with him, were truly showing a humble and kind person and I believe it is not wrong to be proud of your achievements in sports, sadly too many take this as arrogance. But achievements are something to be proud off if you ask me.

I don´t give much into gossip, I felt his programs were amazing and he was a real joy in the press room, that´s all. :wave:
I think he has much improved over the past year...am I wrong or did the quad god towel disappear? I hope he is growing. He can be proud of what he has done. I just prefer the Japanese view on pride, and, of course, Japan lover Jason Brown. I have never seen him in person where he has shown one bit of arogence about being the most artistic man in figure skating (MHO) and when I told him that, he must smiles in appreciation that us fans feel so strongly about him.
I think many on this forum would be shocked to learn about what some forum members have accomplished in their lives. Some I know about and some I dont. But all are quiet about their accomplishments. Let us hope Ilia continues his transition to a great person. If he gets a 40 million dollar endorsement, I hope he gives back to the sport....I know Yuna does and I hope Alysa does also.
 
Since Camden Pulkinen's fifth place in his Worlds debut in 2022 is what I would say.
Ilia placed ninth in 2022. (No disrespect to Ilia -- I am a longtime fan.)

My congratulations to top four today!
Gogolev was my favorite debut among 2026 Worlds men.
Also happy for Torgashev in top ten.



Not rabbit ears, but USA channel is showing four hour of Worlds today, as it did yesterday. Plus two hours on Thursday. I'll take what I can get.
I guess I long for the days when you got 4 channels and figure skating was bigger than basket ball, my friend. Yes there were lots of holiday specials but there were pro competitions as well....and ABC Wide World of Sports...
 
Humble? A person who called himself the Quad God is humble?
Edit: Yes, he did call himself a superstar in the K and C but to his credit he used his quadgod towel to wipe his face and then wadded it up and put it in his lap.
LOL as I watched Ilia mop his face with his own fan towel. I was thinking, surely Ilia isn't going to do his own laundry?! A Quad God doing his own laundry?! :laugh:
 
Or perhaps, some or most of the judges have less limited views of artistry, so that they perceive there's more than one kind of artistry that figure skaters may have and practice.
And that's why nothing boils my blood like the word "artistry" slapped left and right in figure skating world 😉. I hate calling PCS the "artistic" score, like it is some sort of ephemeral assessment of how well the program reached our deepest emotions hidden somewhere in the very soul of a human being. We are not measuring art - how one could even do that? - but how well the skater uses edges, gains speed, controls his turns, controls his body lines etc. It's not as simple and as subjective as "well there is more than one type of art". If we fall into that trap, then every score is just nothing more than judges going "I like it/I don't like it and also the music was cool/dumb".
Sorry, kind of off topic, but it was cooking in my mind for a very long time and finally boiled over the pot.
 
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Poor Yuma all those silver medals at the Olympics and Worlds has any skater this good been so close but never won Gold at either event? His single Gold from a major championship is from 4CC.
What about poor Weaver and Poje or Piper and Paul who really have struggled to get the judges onside unlike say ZK AT least Yuma gets more respect than those teams.
 
Just finished watching the men's free skate. I was hoping for Adam to skate a clean-ish program. ☹️ He reminds me so much of Amber Glenn in the sense that they are capable of so much more than what they put out at the Olympics and Worlds but couldn't deliver when it mattered. At least they both have a small medal.

Happy for Shun! 🥳 It was a beautiful redemption skate by Yuma.
 
Finally finished catching up and one comment only: OMG YUMAAAAAAA :wonder2::excited::jump3::jumping:

When catching up on the short program I yelped in agony seeing his axel - then I watched his free and I was screaming crying not believing my eyes he finally put down a clean Turandot 😭😭😭

I don't think I've ever reacted like that before while watching replays 😅

Seeing Kevin & Yuma's interactions was the cherry on top, they're my 2 favourite male skaters at the moment and my heartttt 🥹
 
And that's why nothing boils my blood like the word "artistry" slapped left and right in figure skating world 😉. I hate calling PCS the "artistic" score, like it is some sort of ephemeral assessment of how well the program reached our deepest emotions hidden somewhere in the very soul of a human being. We are not measuring art - how one could even do that? - but how well the skater uses edges, gains speed, controls his turns, controls his body lines etc. It's not as simple and as subjective as "well there is more than one type of art". If we fall into that trap, then every score is just nothing more than judges going "I like it/I don't like it and also the music was cool/dumb".
Sorry, kind of off topic, but it was cooking in my mind for a very long time and finally boiled over the pot.
Post of the decade right here!
 
What about poor Weaver and Poje or Piper and Paul who really have struggled to get the judges onside unlike say ZK AT least Yuma gets more respect than those teams.
I don't think it's so much that he gets more respect, but rather his skating is Patrick Chan-esque , and therefore he deserves tens, and to be mentioned in the same breath as many of the very best this sport has ever seen.

I'm Canadian and have been thrilled with the success of our dance teams, and I love the uniqueness and slightly off path material that Piper and Paul bring - but I would never mention them in the same breath as the greats of ice dance when it comes to something like pure fundamental skating excellence.

People rave over the Canadian teams mentioned for their unique skills and things they bring to the party, but rarely would anybody claim they were on the same level as Virtue and Moir or Torvill and Dean et al.

The fact is that Piper and Paul, as wonderful as they are, just do not possess the basic skating qualities that make them clearly deserving of the type of marks that Yuma deserves and gets.
 
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Humble? A person who called himself the Quad God is humble?
Edit: Yes, he did call himself a superstar in the K and C but to his credit he used his quadgod towel to wipe his face and then wadded it up and put it in his lap.
When Mr Verner was interviewed Mr Malinin after then event, he asked something like, "Do you consider yourself a superstar?" Mr Malinin replied yes, and then went on to say a lot more, that this wouldn't be possible without everyone in the figure skating world. He spoke quite a few sentences.

When Mr Verner translated Mr Malinin's reply, he said only, "Yes, he does consider himself to be a superstar" and didn't translate the rest of what Mr Malinin said. So the comment about being a superstar lacks context.

This is how people's personas are made on-line.....with an incomplete translation, with the elimination of context, all for the sake of a headline or for supporting a belief.

Interesting to watch this happen.
 
When Mr Verner was interviewed Mr Malinin after then event, he asked something like, "Do you consider yourself a superstar?" Mr Malinin replied yes, and then went on to say a lot more, that this wouldn't be possible without everyone in the figure skating world. He spoke quite a few sentences.

When Mr Verner translated Mr Malinin's reply, he said only, "Yes, he does consider himself to be a superstar" and didn't translate the rest of what Mr Malinin said. So the comment about being a superstar lacks context.

This is how people's personas are made on-line.....with an incomplete translation, with the elimination of context, all for the sake of a headline or for supporting a belief.

Interesting to watch this happen.
context or no context... I wonder what other skaters, like Alysa or Yuma or Kaori would answer to this question. Honestly, figure skaters are not really superstars the way actors or singers are or even professional league athletes.

I think an athlete (of the Olympics type) is better off staying humble when discussing their own fame :)

If I told my colleagues at work I have watched Ilia Malinin compete this weekend, they wouldn't know who he is. If I told them I went to watch a movie with Tom Holland (just an example), they would know exactly who he is and what movie it was.
 
context or no context... I wonder what other skaters, like Alysa or Yuma or Kaori would answer to this question. Honestly, figure skaters are not really superstars the way actors or singers are or even professional league athletes.

I think an athlete (of the Olympics type) is better off staying humble when discussing their own fame :)

If I told my colleagues at work I have watched Ilia Malinin compete this weekend, they wouldn't know who he is. If I told them I went to watch a movie with Tom Holland (just an example), they would know exactly who he is and what movie it was.
But he a superstar in figure skating, which apparently is what he said.
 
But he a superstar in figure skating, which apparently is what he said.
I guess the fault goes to the interviewer. Ask a silly question and you get that kind of answer. I won't fault Ilia for it any longer :) Just like I don't fault him for calling himself a quad g0d when he was a child. But he does have a tendency to make himself sound a bit arrogant so it does bring that kind of reaction from me, when I hear yet another Ilia moment... I usually give him the benefit of the doubt, a few hours later but man... how many times do I have it in me to be so compassionate and understanding :)
 
Just rewatched Malinin's skate. I think one of my fave things is that his program always switches up in some way because the ice truly is his playground.

The btwist/raspberry twist, for example. You never know if it's going to be in a footwork sequence, or into a sit spin, or (in the case of his Worlds 2026 FS) lead into his final pose. In his SP, you thought he was done the program, but then he just throws in an aerial cartwheel. You never know if his backflip will be a tuck or a flash kick, or land on one foot a la Surya.

Of course, his jump layout can change to whatever he wants.

It's the same program being done over the course of a season, but unlike other skaters it's not a repeat/near-repeat of the same program each time (I know, other skaters do make adjustments here and there but they usually commit to a layout, and certainly don't tend to switch what highlights they do and their placement in the program). It's little things like that which make his skating fresh to watch. And I always wonder how he trains various layouts, and not just jumps but the tricks.
 
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Just rewatched Malinin's skate. I think one of my fave things is that his program always switches up in some way because the ice truly is his playground.

The btwist/raspberry twist, for example. You never know if it's going to be in a footwork sequence, or into a sit spin, or (in the case of his Worlds 2026 FS) lead into his final pose. In his SP, you thought he was done the program, but then he just throws in an aerial cartwheel. You never know if his backflip will be a tuck or a flash kick, or land on one foot a la Surya.

Of course, his jump layout can change to whatever he wants.

It's the same program being done over the course of a season, but unlike other skaters it's not a repeat/near-repeat of the same program each time (I know, other skaters do make adjustments here and there but they usually commit to a layout, and certainly don't tend to switch what highlights they do and their placement in the program). It's little things like that which make his skating fresh to watch. And I always wonder how he trains various layouts, and not just jumps but the tricks.
I have noticed also how he switches his tricks around, especially the raspberry twist.

It can be seen as cool and because he is so at ease as a performer.

It can also be seen from another perspective : it's possible for him to switch things around because there's not much of a real purpose to these moves in the program. They are there to impress and be fun and they are... but they don't have a relationship with the music or the program because the choreography is simpler.

Anyway, that's my opinion on this ;)

The freedom is refreshing but the freedom comes from lack of depth in the composition. It doesn't matter anyways since judges gave it 9.75 :)
 
Sounds like you had a wonderful experience in Prague. Good for you!

The "Quad God" thing really turned me off, but it's worth remembering that Ilia was younger when he said that. Teenage boys sometimes love to strut their stuff and, objectively speaking, in a way I can't blame him for being cocky -- he's spectacularly gifted and for a while he almost seemed invulnerable to falls and such. Talk about a recipe for a swelled head...

As I've said on another thread, I think the Olympics were a huge teachable moment for Ilia. It's tough to quantify but I sensed something different and stronger in his SP. More mature. There's more to him than the Quad God; hopefully we'll get to see that in the next few years.
We agree. I would still have him dump that silly name and "Superstar" and grow . Are you old enough to remember the Quad King? I am not sure he ever called himself that but others did. Timothy Richard Goebel (born September 10, 1980) is an American former competitive figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic bronze medalist. He was the first person to land a quadruple Salchow jump in competition and the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program. He landed 76 career quadruple jumps before his retirement in 2006
 
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