Malinin Opens His Season at Saatva Skate America

by Liz Leamy

Ilia Malinin, the American skating wonderchild, is as prepped to hit the golden gear once again at the 2026 Saatva Skate America Championships that will be held at the Angel of the Winds Arena in Everett, Washington November 13^th through November 15^th.

Malinin, who famously made history by executing the first quad Axel (with its monster four and a half revolutions) in competition at the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid, New York, along with achieving a host of other illustrious feats, has, since the start of the 2020s, emerged as one of the most exemplary and inspirational sports figures in the world due to his extraordinary athletic accomplishments as well as for his cool, humble and relatable human nature, characteristics that are boldly expressed through his skating.

Malinin, whose astonishing resume thus far includes scoring gold at the World Championships in 2026, 2025 and 2024, World bronze in 2023, four consecutive U.S. titles in 2026, 2025, 2024 and 2023, a U.S. silver medal in 2023 and three Grand Prix Final titles has emerged as a massive global media star over the past few years for these things, for certain.

At the same time, it seems to be Malinin’s fascinating life journey that seems to be the biggest stronghold as to why he has attracted and maintained so many hundreds of thousands of fans and followers from all over the world, especially in the last year.

Malinin, who graduated from George C. Marshall High School in 2023 and is now enrolled in online classes at George Mason University in Virginia, has, to date, compiled a resume that could be described as Herculean, to say the least.

Yet, he is still frequently asked to discuss his feelings about the 2026 Olympics, where he placed eighth in the men’s singles competition.

Malinin, who also happened to be hugely instrumental in helping the U.S. contingent score gold in the 2026 Olympic team event and triumphed to take first at the 2026 World Championships several weeks following the conclusion of Torino, is always positive and frank, stating how his primary purpose is essentially to gain experience, strength and wisdom from life’s many lessons to achieve fulfillment, both in and out of the rinks.

“I think it was more like the path that I was supposed to go,” said Malinin, who trains with his parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, both of who are former Olympic singles competitors, at the SkateQuest Arena in Reston, Virginia. “I definitely know I’ve learned so much from that opportunity and am now looking ahead to the new season and the next four years.”

By all accounts, Malinin’s success seems to be the result of his talent and skills as well as his steely mindset that is very much reminiscent of that of the iconic movie character, Rocky Balboa, as he has shown how he is all about getting off the mat and staying the course through all the twists and turns in life.

“Everything that has happened since then has definitely changed my mindset, changed my perspective and really has just changed me into a whole different person,” said Malinin. “I feel like a completely different skater, person and persona going into the next four years and feel more mature, more educated and more curious to keep learning and keep experiencing.”

Malinin, meanwhile, also spoke about how much the 2026 Olympics has impacted his life in terms of both inspiration and motivation.

“I think this was really a stepping point for what is to come next,” said Malinin. “I want to continue to go to bigger and greater heights.”

Malinin, who has been training diligently over the past several months in preparation for this competition, the same event where he famously landed a quad Axel back in 2022, seems to be as amped as ever to get back in the ring to showcase his current body of work.

“I’ve really enjoyed just being able to train and practice new programs,” said Malinin. “I really just feel like I’ve come in with a brand new energy in regard to the sport and am just seeing how I can enjoy the season just in general.”

This season, Malinin is doing a powerful and moving program dedicated to those lost in the tragic January 2025 plane disaster titled ‘In Remembrance of Those Never Forgotten.’

For his free skate, Malinin is slated to use the music from the popular animated series, ‘Blue Eyed Samurai’ for that on-ice narrative.

“I have definitely surprised myself with the programs this year,” said Malinin. “They are definitely a step up not only technically, but also artistically, and I’ll say that these are definitely some of the most difficult programs I’ve done.”

Malinin also spoke about how every competition is extremely important, especially the first one of the season.

“I think for me, the most important competitions in my whole season are the first competition, the ones in the middle and the last competition and Skate America is going to show me the starting point of you know, how I am with my condition and how the programs are looking in front of the audience and the public,” said Malinin. “So it’s really just kind of like a test to see where I am in terms of my stamina, my strength and all of those other different aspects.”

When asked about being awarded the Milano Cortina 2026 Fair Play Award for Sportsmanship, Malinin, in a humble and gracious manner, spoke about the power of connectivity among people, especially those in the skating world.

“Winning that award was such an honor because it showed that sports are about more than just winning or losing. It’s about sportsmanship, especially in our sport,” said Malinin. “I think one of the reasons why this sport is so special is because of how appreciative we are of one another and how we’re always there to support one another, no matter what happens.”

Aside from being a global forerunner of the sport, Malinin has effectively emerged as a powerful ambassador of connectivity, something that ought to be powerfully conveyed in his performances this weekend, that is for sure.

Efimova and Mitrofanov Looking to Make Their Mark at Skate America

by Liz Leamy

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, the 2026 and 2025 U.S. titlists and 2024 U.S. silver medalists, set to face off against the sport’s finest at the 2026 Saatva Skate America Championships that runsfrom Thursday, November 13^th through Sunday, November 15th in the picturesque Pacific Northwest locale of Everett, Washington.

Last month, this powerhouse pairs team, who clinched gold at the 2026 Four Continents Championships in Beijing and sixth at the 2025 and 2026 World Championships, respectively, placed second at Skate Canada International and are once again, looking to score a result that will qualify them for the Grand Prix Final, to be held in Chongqing, China in December.

For the amiable and hard-working duo, who trains at the Skating Club of Boston in Norwood, Massachusetts with Olga Ganicheva and Alexei Letov, the primary goal seems to be about getting out on the ice to share who they are and what they do.

“It’s very exciting to go to Skate America. It’s like home ice to us and we definitely want to keep up the momentum we have from Skate Canada,” said Mitrofanov, husband of Efimova who originates from Plano, Texas where he skated for many years at the Dallas Figure Skating Club also based in that city. “It’s so nice to have fans cheering us on, so that’s definitely something for us to acknowledge as well as embrace, honestly, so hopefully we can put that into our skates.”

Efimova agreed.

“We’re trying to take it day by day,” said Efimova, who was born in Kouvola, Finland and whose mother is a former figure skater based in that country. “We finished training today and to use them in the best way we can to do the final touches on whatever we want to get the final confidence for the event.”

This season, the duo, known for their lightning-quick twists, soaring lifts and gigantic throw triples, among other things, are skating to Donna Summer’s iconic dance floor anthem, ‘Last Dance’ for their short program and Rosalia’s ‘Lux’ for their free skate, both programs having been designed by Renee Roca, the three-time U.S. dance champion, and of which they excited to use and showcase.

“When we started working with Renee, the best way to say it is like it just clicked,” said Mitrofanov. “She understands partnership and how to skate with a partner and it’s just like we are constantly learning from her every time we get together. We’re very lucky to be able to work with her.”

The team also spoke about how much they have grown and evolved since they first started collaborating with Roca.

“It’s always super exciting, especially with the new programs, because I know she gets us,” said Mitrofanov. “That’s the best way to say it is that she really gets us and that’s why she’s able to put such amazing programs for us together and it just works really well for us.”

Clearly, the chemistry among the three seems to be potent, especially in noting the team’s high component scores at Skate Canada International last October.

Specifically, the duo scored second in the short at that event, earning the second-highest component marks of that segment, a 31.62, with the top finishers, Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada racking up the highest PCS number, a 33.31.

Although the team had some brief technical moments in their free skate (in regard to their triple Salchow sequence and throw triple toe), their overall presentation and execution was outstanding to earn third in that portion of the competition and second overall to Pereira and Michaud.

Again, Efimova and Trankov were awarded the second-highest component scores in the Skate Canada free skate event, a 64.26, marks that were just less than a point and a quarter behind Pereira and Michaud’s 65.50. (The second-place finishers of the free skate, Oxana Vouillamoz and Tom Bovart of Switzerland, earned a 58.55 component score and ranked third overall in the final standings, pulling up from fourth in the short.)

“For us, it was to be able to rest and recover from Skate Canada and then to basically keep up any momentum that we were able to hold onto,” said Mitrofanov. “So, for us, it’s more like ‘okay, let’s see how we feel this week.’ We’re feeling fairly good right now and hopefully we’ll keep up that momentum going into the rest of the week.”

The duo, meanwhile, seems to be as amped as ever about starting a new Olympic cycle this season with Efimova saying she is hopeful about getting her U.S. citizenship to help qualify her for the U.S. Olympic team. (Last winter, Efimova did not hold U.S. citizenship before the 2026 Olympic roster submission deadline.)  

“We’re taking each season by our goals for that season,” said Mitrofanov. “So we see how it goes and then start to see what we need to do and how to improve.”

For the duo, it certainly seems as much about the journey as it is about the destination as the two appear to be doing whatever they can to making the most and embrace every moment of their experiences out on the ice.

“I feel like when you think too far ahead, you’re missing out on what’s happening now,” said Mitrofanov.

Certainly, these are powerful words that speak volumes as to why the two have accomplished so much since first joining forces together back in June 2023, that is for certain.

ISU Grand Prix for 2026/27 Begins with Grand Prix de France

French Grand Prix held in Angers, France for Fifth Time

Photos by George S Rossano
Captions by Tatjana Flade

Men Short Program 

Adam Siao Him Fa of France skated to the lead in the Men’s Short Program in front of an enthusiastic home crowd with a brilliant performance to "Take Five“, coming close to his personal best with a score of 102.46 points.

“Take Five is actually a music that I used to skate to ten years ago, which is kind of funny because at the beginning I, I didn't want to skate on it. But it was really different, obviously, to what I was used to do ten years ago and it was very fun to skate. It suited me directly. The whole process of creating the program was very challenging because for me it was a new way to skate, a new way to go for my jumps. We finished the Olympic cycle, so I think it's the right time to try something different, to experiment what can work, what will maybe not work.” 

Estonia’s Aleksandr Selevko chose a very entertaining program to a Michael Jackson medley as well but tripled his planned quads to come second at 85,49 points.

“I think I just was nervous.  That's why I did two major mistakes. Just shaky legs, and I think it's just beginning of season. A little bit later I will feel more in shape, and I will do a better job with my jumps.”

Newcomer Minkyu Seo of Korea, who just moved up from the junior ranks got into the top three on 83.83 points.

“I made a few mistakes, so I'm not fully satisfied, but I will be more focused to skate a clean free program.”

Olympic Champion Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan came fourth on 80.25 points.

“I missed the Lutz and I forgot to do a combination. It was not a good day. I didn’t sleep well but this should not be an excuse. You have to skate well no matter the circumstances.”

Men Free Skating

To the delight of the home crowd, Adam Siao Him Fa scored a runaway victory with 36 points to spare (284.24 points). The Frenchman impressed with his emotional performance to “Here Comes the River”.

"Before my free skate, there was a lot of happening in my mind actually. Throughout the day, I had a lot of doubt, a lot of stress. I was quite nervous. But I talked a lot with Benoit (Richaud), with Cedric (Tours), to myself also. I tried to keep in mind that I'm here because I like to skate. I'm here because I'm also good at it, and, I wanted to show what I can do, what I'm able to do, and how fun I have when I'm skating. So it was really important to me to, to show how much I love figure skating, and actually it helped me so much to go over the pressure, over the stress. I also used this pressure as a strength. I thought that if I can feel this pressure, I can be more focused. I can be better. I can try to push myself and to, to give my best.”

Performing to “Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”, Kao Miura of Japan jumped from ninth to second in the Free Skating, netting 247.96 points.

“I remember very well actually that competition (Grand Prix de France 2024). I do recall very well how Adam did not have the ideal short program, but he had a great free. I thought to myself, ‘Maybe I should keep that image in my mind today.’"

Newcomer Minkyu Seo of Korea captured the bronze in his senior-level ISU Grand Prix debut (244.90 points).

“Since it's my first medal on the senior level, I really appreciate it. However, it's not that I did my best, so I still need an effort to do it. I was already happy to compete with the senior skater. 

Pairs Short Program 

Olympic silver medalists Anastasia Metelkina/Luka Berulava of Georgia took the lead in the Pairs Short Program with a confident performance to “Ex Cathedra”, netting 77.34 points. 

Luka Berulava: “Our flight from Moscow to Istanbul was delayed 21 hours. It's a very interesting story of how we got here. Our flight landed in Paris, and then we got a private transfer to Angers, and we got here five minutes before our practice session.  We put on our skates in the car and we ran from the car straight to the practice.”

Neutral (Russian) athletes Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii finished second on75.85 points with a strong routine to “Black Panther: Wakanda”.

Dmitrii Kozlovskii: “We’re extremely happy to be here. We were waiting for a long time for this moment. I want to say huge thank you to all spectators for their energy, for their emotion that they gave us today. It means a lot for us to be here.” 

Aleksandra Boikova: It was a little bit nerve-wrecking, of course, because the last time we were performing at a Grand Prix was five years ago and it was in France, but in Grenoble. I think we came back stronger because so many years have passed and so many things have changed.”

Germany’s Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel came third in the Short Program on 67.03 points in what was their first competition of the season. Hocke comes off an ankle injury sustained in June that kept her off the ice for several weeks. 

Robert Kunkel: “I think for everybody competing today, it was special situation because everything was new. You couldn't go to the hotel [because of the protests]. It was a long break here. For us it was very emotional because two weeks ago Annika couldn't even do a triple jump or a triple throw. I would say for today our performance was 100% because we didn't even think two weeks ago we can be here. In general, maybe it was 60%.”

Pairs Free Skating 

Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava of Georgia skated to gold with their Free Skating to “The Feeling Begins”, earning 204.65 points

Luka: “Today we didn’t show our best skating. We can show a much better result and skate much nicer and cleaner. Therefore, I don’t really feel this victory yet, because we didn’t give our best. But we’ll continue to work and will try to improve.”

Five years after their last Grand Prix event, neutral (Russian) athletes Aleksandra Boikova/Dmitrii Kozlovskii came back and claimed the silver medal at 197.66 points.

Dmitrii: "It’s a good result. Returning to the international stage is a big moment for us, but we have to keep working, keep moving forward and see where it takes us.“

Germany’s Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel skated to the bronze in their first competition this season as Hocke is recovering from an ankle injury that kept her off the ice for months. They scored 179.74 points. 

Robert: “It was pretty hard for us because of the injury, it was the third full free program (run-through) we did. The crowd really helped us through, and the program was building up with the music, also with the elements. From the second half, it just feels like an exhibition program. And it was really fun to skate.”

 Ladies, Short Program 

Reigning Four Continents Champion Yuna Aoki of Japan won the Short Program with a playful performance to “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”, setting a new personal best of 76.31 points.

“I had confidence. The spins and steps are scoring her this season and this is where these five points (more) come from. Coming in, I was not thinking about placements and it was a surprise to be first in the Short Program.”

Georgia’s Anastasia Gubanova posted a new personal best as well for her Tango Short Program (72.63 points).

"As Yuna said, this season we have new rules and we get more points for spins and steps. We’ve put more emphasis on steps and spins in training. Before the event [Trialeti Trophy] in Georgia I had some health issue and I was not ready. I took a little break after Georgia and now I’m better. I think I’m more ready.” 

Olympic bronze medalist Ami Nakai of Japan ranked third in the Short Program on 70.66 points.

“It all started here at the Grand Prix in France and I’m happy to come back here. I don’t feel pressure, I was just looking forward to coming here and enjoy my skating. I popped the triple Axel that came as a surprise and my mind blanked for a second. But as I was composed coming in, I was able to regroup and do the rest of the jumps. I still don’t know why I made a mistake on the triple Axel. I need to go back and discuss with the coaches.

Ladies Free Skate

Ami Nakai of Japan stormed to back-to-back gold medals at the Grand Prix de France. Coming from third place in the Short Program, the Olympic bronze medalist delivered an excellent Free Skating to “An American in Pairs” and jumped on to the top of the podium at 219.74 points.

“To do a repeat was one of my goals but more than that I wanted to have a program that I can be proud of. I’m happy to do both today. When I came here last year, I was a challenger and fearless going in. Many things have happened since then and I was able to perform well in big competitions. This was really the first time I was determined to win. That created a lot of pressure but I was able to overcome that and this is probably where I grew the most.” 

Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova skated off with her first ISU Grand Prix silver medal, setting a new seasons best of 202.82 points.

“This medal means a lot. It gave me back my motivation and gives me strength to continue training. It was a long day today because of the protests and the preparation was not as usual. The organizers here prepared a room for us where we can rest and we were able to recover there and is apparently worked out well for the competition.” 

Lara Naki Gutmann of Italy rose from fourth to earn the bronze, her second Grand Prix medal of her career (202.37 points).

“I’m happy with the crowd response. The Free today felt really god good and I enjoyed a lot of little moments in the choreography. It is amazing for me to bring this amazing feeling for the season.”

Ice Dance, Rhythm Dance

France’s Olympic Champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Guillaume Cizeron of France skated to a five-point lead with their Spanish themed Rhythm Dance, scoring 82.56 points. 

Guillaume Cizeron: “We're very lucky to be starting our season here in France with a really amazing audience. We had really good memories from last year, and it feels like time has flown. Our goal today was to enjoy and have fun together and, and test this new program today that we really love and had a lot of fun choreographing at home.” 

Laurence Fournier Beaudry: “I think that we're all very happy that the Rhythm Dance includes a compulsory dance now. It's a little bit of a humility lesson also, because we get to challenge ourselves with tracking, challenge yourself with the posture, and just really learn to skate together in very established steps.”

Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin of Georgia came second with a Tango and Waltz program on 77.90 points.

Gleb Smolkin: “We're very proud of ourselves. We had a great experience last year here in Angers, and we're very excited to come back here. The crowd is absolutely outstanding. The Rhythm Dance went quite smooth for us. So we're very happy.”

Performing to “My Fair Lady” and “Sing Sing Sing”, Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko (USA) are currently ranked third on 77.83 points.

Christina Carreira: “We're really happy to have the pattern dance back.I t's been really fun to work on it. We've had decade dances as a theme for the last few years, so having a classical theme feels really different and new. We knew we wanted a more classical rhythm right away. I wanted to feel like a princess in my waltz.

Anthony Ponomarenko: “This is a Rhythm Dance that we really love and we're passionate about, and skating it today was very fun. We're very proud of the training that we've had coming in, and we're, we're happy to show that and to skate a great Rhythm Dance.”

Ice Dance Free Dance 

Hot favorites and Olympic Champions Laurence Fournier Beaudry/Guillaume Cizeron of France as expected celebrated a confident victory on home ice. Performing to music by Max Richter, they built on their lead after the Rhythm Dance and totaled 207.57 points.

Guillaume Cizeron: “I'm glad to be here. Last year was unexpected. This year is also unexpected, and sometimes I have to pinch myself and to realize that I'm here still. But I'm really grateful. I obviously love skating, and I love what we've created together. I think with maturityI get to enjoy and appreciate it even more. The more I do it, the more I realize how precious it is, and I think it has a special place in my heart.” 

Laurence Fournier Beaudry: “I think that every competition is a competition in itself. The pressure is always there. We want to skate the best that we can. We want to skate like we are able to and I think we're the hardest judges of ourselves.  So is it different [this year]? I would say no else than we achieved something last year, and we want to achieve something different this year.”

Georgians Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin danced off with the silver, their first ISU Grand Prix medal, scoring 193,93 points. They had changed their Free Dance music for the third time since the beginning of the season and are skating now to "Prelude to a Soul“, "Terra Rossa“ and "Ambivalence“. "Hopefully this was the last music change“, Smolkin commented. 

Gleb Smolkin: "We're obviously very happy, and I think it [the medal] means that, we're on the right track with our coaching team. We’re just trying to improve with every competition.”

“We're trying to tell our personal story and Diana's story. Last season, Diana finally decided to open up about the partial hearing loss that she was diagnosed with as a little kid. She got a huge positive response from the crowd and from the fans and from just strangers, people who had suffered the same issue. They were saying that it was very motivating for them.”

The bronze medal went to Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko with their dramatic Free Dance to the ballet “Manon“ with 189.36 points. 

Christina Carreira: “Last season, we really had trouble finding music that we were passionate about and that we loved, and we didn't really have programs that kind of spoke to us and that we felt connected to. So this season, when we went about picking our music, that was our priority.  I'm not sure how I found the ballet Manon, but I stumbled upon the Royal Ballet's trailer for Manon, and the music they used for it was so hauntingly beautiful that I got goose bumps, and I was really intrigued into the story. The whole team was inspired. Marie-France [Dubreuil] made this free dance, and we created it very quickly.”