US star wins third straight world title after Olympic shock
Japanese rivals Kagiyama and Sato round out podium
Ilia Malinin claimed a third straight world figure skating championship on Saturday afternoon, completing a swift redemption a month after his shock Olympic collapse with a commanding free skate.
The 21-year-old American entered the final at Prague’s O2 Arena with a commanding lead after Thursday’s short program, where his personal-best 111.29 had put him more than nine points clear of the field. This time, there would be no unraveling.
Skating last, Malinin produced a free program of 218.11 to finish on 329.40 points, comfortably ahead of Japanese rivals Yumi Kagiyama (306.67) and Shun Sato (288.54).
