The United States' Ilia Malinin delivered a near-perfect short program Tuesday night in Milano, putting the two-time world champion firmly atop the men's singles standings heading into Friday's free skate.

The Americans enter Day 3 of the figure skating team event at the Winter Olympics atop the leaderboard, but need clutch performances to secure gold.

Ilia Malinin delivers in the men’s free skate as US hold off late Japanese push to retain Olympic team title. Host nation Italy finish third after three days