Ilia Malinin of the United States won the men's Grand Prix Final by landing seven quadruple jumps. Alysa Liu took gold in women's, while Madison Chock and Evan Bates won ice dance.
On the final day of the figure skating Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Ilia Malinin of the United States scored a world-record 238.24 in the men's free skate, totaling 332.29 points for his third straight title. Third after the short program, Malinin landed seven quads, including a quad axel and quad loop. "This is one of the best skates I've ever had," he said. "I had to fight for every element in front of the Japanese crowd."
Beijing Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama took silver with 302.41 points, and compatriot Shun Sato bronze with 292.08. Unbeaten for over two years, Malinin is the two-time reigning world champion and three-time GP Final winner. "It gives me a lot of confidence for the Olympics," he added. "I'll perfect everything in the next two months."
In women's, world champion Alysa Liu placed third in free skate but won gold overall with 222.49 points. Japan's Ami Nakai earned silver with a clean triple axel at 220.89, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto took bronze at 218.80. Mone Chiba dropped from short program lead to fifth. Liu said, "It gives me confidence in my stamina and consistency, but a lot can happen before the Olympics."
Ice dance saw Olympic favorites Madison Chock and Evan Bates win their third straight GP Final with a season-best free skate of 131.68 for 220.42 total. France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron took silver at 214.25, Britain's Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson bronze at 208.81. Chock noted, "There are so many positives to bring forward into the second half of the season."
The event highlighted Olympic preparations, with the ISU allowing Russian skaters as neutrals in men's and women's events.