US star Ilia Malinin defends his world figure skating title with breathtaking performance

US star Ilia Malinin defended his world figure skating title on Saturday with a dominant display on the ice inside Boston’s packed TD Garden.

US star Ilia Malinin defended his world figure skating title on Saturday with a dominant display on the ice inside Boston’s packed TD Garden. In truth, Malinin simply made official what many people already thought to be the case; that he is the best figure skater on the planet. The 20-year-old cruised to the title, capping off his campaign with a scintillating free skate which was greeted by a standing ovation by those inside the arena. Malinin wowed the crowd with six quadruple jumps to the tune of “I’m Not a Vampire” by Falling In Reverse. He finished his title defense with a season-leading 318.56 points, more than 31 points ahead of Mikhail Shaidorov in second. However, ever the perfectionist, Malinin somehow wanted more from his routine after he narrowly missed out on landing a planned seventh quadruple jump. “The home crowd was really inspiring for me, and I am glad that I was able to work out the whole season to get to this moment,” Malinin said after the win.