Superb Malinin cruises to fourth US figure skating title as Chock-Bates make history
Ilia Malinin won a fourth consecutive U.S. men's figure skating title with a commanding free skate; Madison Chock and Evan Bates claimed a record seventh U.S. ice dance crown, strengthening U.S. Olympic prospects for Milano-Cortina.
Overview
Ilia Malinin dominated the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Louis, winning a fourth straight national title with a 324.88 total and a 57.26-point margin.
Malinin scored 209.78 in the free skate and has won every event since the 2023 Grand Prix Final, entering the Milano-Cortina Olympics as a top gold contender.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates secured a record seventh national ice dance title with a season-best free dance, totaling 228.87 and surpassing Davis-White's record.
Chock and Bates' 'Paint It Black' free dance earned a double-digit victory; Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolesnik and Christina Carreira/Anthony Ponomarenko finished second and third.
U.S. team selections for the Milano-Cortina Olympics will be announced Sunday, with Malinin and Chock-Bates among the favorites for Olympic medals.
Analysis
Center-leaning sources frame the story as a celebratory, legacy-focused triumph, using laudatory language ('coronation,' 'dynasty') and vivid crowd/performance descriptors. Editorial choices prioritize records, emotional reaction, and career arc while downplaying competitor context or technical critique. Athlete quotes and scores are source content presented to reinforce that celebratory narrative.
Sources (3)
FAQ
Ilia Malinin is viewed as a top gold medal contender because he is the two-time reigning world champion (2024, 2025), the only skater ever to land a quadruple Axel in competition, and has dominated recent major events, including multiple Grand Prix Finals and U.S. Championships.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates’ seventh U.S. ice dance title is historic because it breaks the previous record of six national ice dance crowns held by Olympic champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White, giving Chock and Bates the all-time U.S. record in the discipline.
At these U.S. Championships, Malinin won by 57.26 points with a total of 324.88, a margin that underscores his technical and scoring dominance and aligns with his broader record of winning every event since the 2023 Grand Prix Final.
Malinin is distinguished by his ability to perform all six types of quadruple jumps in a single program and by being the first and only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, feats no other men’s skater has matched.
These results strengthen Team USA’s medal outlook because Malinin enters the Games as the dominant men’s skater and prohibitive favorite for gold, while Chock and Bates, as record-setting national and recent world champions, are among the leading contenders for an ice dance medal.
History
This story does not have any previous versions.