US Men's Olympic Figure Skating 2026 Short Program Top Scorers, Highlights

Ilia Malinin is one skate away from claiming his first-ever individual gold medal at the Winter Olympics.

The 21-year-old American topped the leaderboard in the men's singles short program on Tuesday.

Malinin goes into Friday's free skate with a five-point advantage over his closest rival, Japan's Yuma Kagiyama.

Men's Singles Short Program Scores

1. Ilia Malinin (USA) - 108.16
2. Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) - 103.07
3. Adam Siao Him Fa (France) - 102.55
4. Daniel Grassl (Italy) - 93.46
5. Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan) - 92.94
6. Junhwan Cha (South Korea) - 92.72
7. Kevin Aymoz (France) - 92.64
8. Andrew Torgashev (United States) - 88.94
9. Shun Sato (Japan) - 88.70
10. Stephen Gogolev (Canada) - 87.41

Ilia Malinin put in one of his trademark dominant skates to kick off the men's singles event.

Malinin, the two-time reigning world champion, scored 108.16 on his routine. He is five points ahead of Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, who earned a 103.07 despite falling once in his skate.

The result was a welcome change from the team event for Malinin, who took second to Kagiyama in the short program in the competition that kicked off the figure skating program at the Milan Cortina Games.

Malinin now holds a comfortable edge going into Friday's free skate, where is expected to blow open his advantage over Kagiyama. Malinin was fantastic in the free skate portion of the team event to clinch Team USA's first figure skating gold of the 2026 Winter Olympics.

American Andrew Torgashev placed inside the top 10 with his short program score of 88.94, but he is unlikely to challenge for the medal podium.

France's Adam Siao Him Fa, Italy's Daniel Grassl and Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan are the top contenders for the bronze medal.