U.S. star Ilia Malinin crushes it to win Skate Canada International title

U.S. figure skating star Ilia Malinin dominated the field and captured men’s gold at the Skate Canada International in Halifax on Sunday.

The reigning world champion received a standing ovation for his vampire-themed free program — which included a backflip — to claim a Grand Prix title on consecutive weekends.

Malinin also won Skate America in Allen, Texas, last Sunday.

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Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeated as pairs champions Saturday, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won gold in the women’s title.

The 19-year-old Malinin scored 301.82 total points.

Japan’s Shun Sato (261.16) won silver while South Korea’s Junhwan Cha (260.31) took bronze.

Aleksa Rakic of Burnaby, B.C., scored 222.49 as the top Canadian, finishing seventh in the 12-skater field.

Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev (216.84) fell to ninth after placing fifth in the short program.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., withdrew for medical reasons after finishing last in the short program Saturday.

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Later on Sunday, ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier compete in the free dance, the final event at Skate Canada. Gilles and Poirier ranked first after the free skate, ahead of fellow Canadians Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha.

Canada’s Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeated as pairs champions Saturday, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won gold in the women’s title.

The Grand Prix, the top series in figure skating, consists of six events and a final.

Next up is the Grand Prix de France from Nov. 1-3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 27, 2024.