- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,213,054
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
What Ilia Malinin needs to do in men's free skate to win figure skating team gold medal for U.S. originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
United States figure skating superstar Ilia Malinin gets his first real pressure-packed moment on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
It's the team competition, and the U.S. and Japan enter the final round tied at 59 points. Malinin and Japan's Shun Sato will compete to break the tie.
Here's how that will work.
MORE: Amber Glenn has the most surprising interest at the Olympics
What does Ilia Malinin need to do?
Malinin needs to outscore Japan's Shun Sato to claim the team gold medal for the United States.
No other team is close enough in points to gain team points that would move back up the standings.
Points are awarded in the team standings based on individual finishes, and through all the other portions of the team competition, the U.S. and Japan are tied.
That means it really is just about Malinin and Sato's scores.
MORE: Breezy Johnson won a gold medal for the U.S., and then she broke it
Malinin will go second-to-last in the order. He'll put up a total that Sato will know he has to beat.
The 21-year old Malinin actually finished second on Saturday in the short program portion of this competition, but that was to a different Japanese competitor. This will be his first time facing off with Sato at these Games.
Whoever gets the better of the other will earn a gold medal.
More Olympics news:
- Why Eileen Gu competes for China, not U.S.
- NBC's drone cameras have everyone's attention
- The Winter Olympics mascots are adorable
- The Olympics reason Ilia Malinin doesn't have a girlfriend
- This is what Russia's Olympic hockey roster would've looked like
- How Laila Edwards is making U.S. women's hockey history
Continue reading...
