Malinin triumphs; Aymoz shines
2024 Skate America | Men
USA’s Ilia Malinin won his third consecutive Skate America title on Sunday in Allen, Texas. However, it was Kevin Aymoz of France who won the free skate and rose from fourth to second to win the silver. Japan’s Kao Miura pocketed the bronze, winning his fifth Grand Prix medal.
Ilia Malinin
Malinin stepped out of his opening quad flip in his dynamic short to “Running” by NF, but that was the only mistake the 2024 World Champion in this routine. He landed a solid triple Axel and quad Lutz-triple toe while showing level-four spins throughout. The steps were graded a level three, and he scored 99.69 points for first place in this segment.
“I am happy I got through today,” said Malinin. “I was a little more nervous than usual, but I think that’s normal for the first skate of the Grand Prix season. ”
“I really appreciate Kao! Both of his programs are amazing; he gives me a great competition and motivation to fight for it tomorrow.”
When asked about the possibility of attempting a quintuple jump, the skater said: “I prefer not to talk about it too much. It’s something I want to keep for maybe next season, but I can say it’s looking promising.”
Malinin gave a strong free skate to “I’m Not a Vampire” by Falling in Reverse, but it wasn’t perfect. He opened with a very good quad flip which earned mostly +4 grades of execution (GOE) across the board. He followed up with a solid triple Axel and quad Lutz, but then doubled the loop. He later stepped out a triple Lutz, putting his hand down, but rallied back to land a quad toe-triple toe. In his final jumping pass, he landed a quad Salchow on the quarter before finishing the sequence with a triple Axel.
Despite the mistakes, the 19-year-old’s footwork and two spins were graded a level four, and he earned 190.43 points for a second-place finish in the free skate. His total score of 290.12 kept him first place overall by eight points.
“I am proud of my skate today and I am happy to have pushed through despite the mistakes that I made,” said the two-time national champion. “I always try to remind myself that these things happen, and you have to push through. Being the World Champion puts a lot of extra pressure on me, and I need to learn how to handle that.”
“I am so proud of Kevin after everything he has been through,” he Malinin added.
The skater shared a bit about the theme of his free skate: “There is a dark force that is holding the character of the program back from his full potential. The character over the program learns to take this for his advantage and learns to use his full potential.”
The 2023-24 Grand Prix Final Champion will compete next week at Skate Canada and plans to “stick” to what he’s been doing in training.
Kevin Aymoz
Aymoz had the crowd in the palms of his hands in his short to “Everybody” by Martin Solveig which had lots of energy. The 2019–20 Grand Prix Final bronze medalist landed a quad toe-double toe, triple Axel and triple Lutz. Two spins and the footwork were graded a level four, and he place fourth in this segment with 92.04 points.
“I am so happy!” gushed the 27-year-old, adding that he built the program with his team in one hour. “The last time I walked through the press zone I felt so lonely. Back in January I didn’t know a reason why to stand up from bed. Skating saved me. All the people who supported me in good and bad times, I want to thank them so much that they helped me so much and made me feel loved.”
Aymoz owned the day for the men’s free skate. The five-time national champion did not disappoint with his emotional free skate to “Van Gogh,” “Hold on Tight” and “Destiny.” He landed a quad toe-double toe, quad toe and six triple jumps. The only mistake was an edge call on a triple flip. All spins were graded a level four and he earned the highest component scores of the group. The skater topped his previous personal best from 2023 Worlds with a score of 190.84 for a first-place finish in the free skate. With a total score of 282.88 overall, he rose to second place overall.
As always, Aymoz did not hide his emotions. He cried tears of joy and took victory steps around the Kiss & Cry when his scores were revealed.
“I am proud, and I don’t know how I did it today,” he said. “I mean I know I worked hard, so hard. I was just trying to breathe and be myself. I took out many transitions today, so next time I want to show all the cool transitions we created in that program. I have never been healthier in my life than today.”
“Since the last year I changed a lot in my training and in myself,” the Frenchman said. “I used to train three hours a day on the ice, now I do two times 40 min on the ice plus a lot of off-ice. I train a lot on my own in Switzerland, in Lausanne. I am together there with my boyfriend. I am very grateful to the Skating Club of Lausanne for giving me the opportunity to skate there on my own a couple of times each week.”
He will compete at Finlandia Trophy next.
Kao Miura
Skating to “Conquest of Spaces” by Woodkid, Miura opened with a solid quad Salchow-triple toe but landed his next jump, a triple Axel, on the quarter. The 2023 Four Continents Champion rebounded to land a quad toe in the second half and picked up a level four on two spins to score a new personal best of 99.54 for a close second.
“I felt really relaxed and good today!” said the 19-year-old. “Also, I noticed that the skaters around me had great skates; that really gave me a good feeling and a good competition.”
“What can I say about Ilia? He is God, so what can I do?” he responded when asked about the American who uses “Quad God” for his instagram handle. “I will focus on myself, and he will skate last. Hopefully he will show me a great skate tomorrow!”
Miura tore a muscle two years ago in his left foot and aggravated it again while competing earlier this season.
“It started acting up around Lombardia Trophy and it was still not healed,” he shared. “The physio trainer provided great care. I need to keep the temperature up, even when I am not skating. I will take a warm bath at the hotel and also have to keep the temperature up while I am sleeping. I also take some painkillers. I am very thankful for this great care by the physio trainer.”
The Japanese skater was clear when asked about quintuple jumps: “Never ever will I do it. I tried it once and feared for my life. I do believe though that Ilia is able to do it.”
The 2023 World Junior Champion delivered a technically solid program to Umbrellas of Cherbourg. He landed a triple Axel-Euler-triple Salchow, quad Salchow and quad toe-triple toe. The solo quad toe was landed on the quarter, and a second triple Axel was underrotated, but he showed a clean triple flip and triple loop. The footwork was graded a level two and he received a level four for his flying camel spin, scoring 179.13 points for third place. He slipped from second to third overall with a total score of 278.67.
“Today’s men’s event was really wonderful!” said Miura. “I am happy I did everything I could today, but I think the star of today is Kevin.”
The skater said that today was all about staying “strong” in his head.
“Next time I would love to skate with a little more room to breathe and clean,” he shared. “I still think reaching the final is a possibility but for the next competition, I will find myself with my back against the wall.”
He will skate on home ice next at NHK Trophy.
Nika Egadze
Georgia’s Nika Egadze gave a solid performance, placing third in the short with a new personal best with 93.89 points. His skate to “L’enfer” by Stromae featured a quad Salchow-triple toe, quad toe and triple Axel. The 2024 Denis Ten Memorial Challenge bronze medalist also garnered a level four on two spins.
“I feel so happy!” said the 22-year-old. “I actually injured myself at the Denis Ten Memorial and have had pain in my leg since then. I thought of actually of withdrawing, but pushed through. I am so glad I did that. I had to do it, and I pushed through.”
Skating after Aymoz, Egadze needed to land everything in his free skate to “The Winter” and “Can You Hear the Music.” He fell on his opening quad Lutz attempt but rebounded to land a quad toe and quad Salchow-triple toe. He landed a total of five triple jumps and earned a level four for his flying camel spin for a fourth-place finish (167.82). With an overall score of 261.71, he slipped to fourth overall.
“Last season I would have let the program slip after the initial mistake at the quad Lutz,” said Egadze. “But I am happy that today I pulled myself together and showed the program well afterwards. I can see some progress and I am happy about that.”
“It was a good energy here at this entire competition,” he added. “Very high level. Us last five skaters were at “The Ice” together in Japan, and it is really nice to be able to talk between each other. Especially, I liked competing here together with Ilia and being able to talk in the dressing room. It was a really good competition overall.”
Egadze will compete next at Cup of China.
Deniss Vasiljevs
Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia had a terrific skate in his short program to “Helix,” landing a triple Axel, triple Lutz-triple toe and triple flip. The only mistake was an edge call the last jump, but all three spins were graded a level four. The 25-year-old scored 85.10 points for fifth place going into the free skate.
“I am very happy with my skate today,” said the 2022 European bronze medalist. “I really like the energy of skating in North America, the arenas really heat up! I still haven’t adjusted to the rink size. It’s always a bit of a juggle if I can make it for the jumps.”
The skater added that he felt his short program was at about 75% and still doesn’t feel comfortable enough to put a quad in it.
“This season I am aiming for consistent performances throughout the season,” Vasiljevs said. “That is my main goal. I think my new consistency comes from me believing and trusting more in myself and my own decisions. It’s still a learning process, I will never stop learning.”
Fans screamed and roared after the 2024 Shanghai Trophy silver medalist finished his dramatic free skate to La Bayadere. While he underrotated and stepped out a quad Salchow, he landed a total of eight solid triple jumps. As always, he paid particular attention to detail in his choreography, picking up a level four on all spins and a three on the footwork. He scored a new season’s best of 166.37 for fifth place and maintained fifth place overall (251.47).
He will be headed to China for his next Grand Prix event.
Koshiro Shimada of Japan placed sixth overall (219.68), followed by USA’s Maxim Naumov (216.38) and Nozomu Yoshioka (215.92).
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