TALLINN, Estonia – American figure skater Ilia Malinin shattered the world record in the short programme at the junior world championships, scoring 88.99 points with his programme set to David Cook’s “Billie Jean” to take a big lead into the free skate.
The 17-year-old Malinin, dubbed the “QuadGod” for his dynamic leaping ability, easily surpassed the previous record of 84.87 points that current world champion Shoma Uno set at the junior championships in 2015, AP reported.
Malinin, who finished ninth at senior worlds last month, finished second to Olympic gold medallist Nathan Chen at the US championships in January.
But Malinin was passed over for the team that went to Beijing in favour of veteran Jason Brown, and is now considered a favourite to medal at the 2026 Winter Games in Italy.
In the pairs competition, Karina Safina and Luka Berulava of Georgia lead with 67.77 points. Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos of Australia were second and Anastasiia Smirnova and Danil Siianytsia of the US were third.
Elsewhere, The Oklahoma women’s gymnastics team is heading back to a familiar spot thanks in small part to a little pep talk from Baker Mayfield.
The Sooners posted the top score of 198.112 during the first session of the NCAA semi-finals, moving the four-time national champions into the finals for the ninth straight time.
Utah also advanced with an overall score of 197.712, ahead of Minnesota (197.112) and Alabama (197.100).
The second semi-finals include Auburn and reigning Olympic champion Sunisa Lee, Florida, Missouri and defending national champion Michigan.
Jade Carey of Oregon State, who captured gold in the floor exercise at the 2020 Olympics, led the early session in the all-around with a 39.650.
The Sooners chatted with Mayfield – who won the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma in 2017 – with Mayfield urging them to “feel dangerous” as the program tries to win its fourth title since 2016.
Oklahoma moved in front during the second rotation, using a stellar set on uneven bars to slip by the Utes into first. The set included a 9.887 from Olivia Trautman, competing in the event for the first time this season after being limited by a knee injury.
“(Mayfield) told us to just do our stuff and believe in ourselves,” Trautman said.
Utah reached the finals for the fourth time in five championships by finishing the meet with a rock-solid beam set.
The Utes’ score of 49.600 was the highest on the event during the first semifinal, ending any hope of Alabama or Minnesota closing the gap.
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