Ilia Malinin broke his own free skate record at the ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada, earning 228.97, surpassing his previous world record of 227.79 set at the 2024 World Championships. His total competition score was 333.81 – an eye-watering 76 points ahead of the competition. The 'Quad God' is the two-time world champion, two-time Grand Prix Final champion, three-time U.S. national champion and has been undefeated since the 2023 Grand Prix de France.

Malinin achieved this without performing his quadruple Axel (he currently is the only athlete to land this most difficult jump in competition), and with some errors across his short program and free skate, he has reframed the possibility of what can be achieved in men's singles figure skating.

"It was one of the best programs I've done so far this season," Malinin said. "After the third jump, I felt that it was really coming together, and it felt almost like autopilot. Of course, in my personal opinion, it wasn't perfect, and there's always more to add to the program, so I know that hopefully that record can be even higher."

Malinin said the story behind his free skate program, titled, 'A Voice,' is about fighting to become a better version of yourself. 

"It's my passion to not only just become a skater but also to move and change the world of skating," he said. "So, especially in an Olympic year, I wanted something emotional, something that everyone could understand, and connect to their own perspective."

Malinin, coached by his parents, former figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, as well as veteran coach to Nathan Chen, Rafael Arutunian, is the favorite to win the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games, which will be his first Olympic outing.

Estonian Aleksandr Selevko moved up to 2nd place behind Malinin, from 3rd after the short, a career-best result at a Grand Prix event. 

Japan's Kao Miura rounded out the top three, after fighting for a podium place after his disappointing 10th-place finish at the Grand Prix de France. Teammate Kazuki Tomono fell from 2nd after the short program to 5th in the free skate, resulting in a 4th-place finish.

France's Kevin Aymoz was unable to build on his solid performance in the short program, and with an 11th-place free skate placement, finished in 10th.

Lithuania's Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevicius won the free dance, in what is proving to be a game-changing season for the ice dancers. 

Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, with an error on the curve lift and second set of twizzles, came through to clinch first place overall with a total score of 202.89 points to Reed and Ambrulevicius' 200.92. The veteran Canadian team made a return to their fan-favorite, 'Vincent' free dance this year and will be looking to tighten the program at their second Grand Prix assignment in Finland, where they will face off against 2018 Olympic bronze medalists, Maia and Alex Shibutani, who are returning after a seven-year hiatus.

With a third-place finish at Grand Prix de France and now 2nd place in Canada, Reed and Ambrulevicius have a possible, if slim, chance to make it to the Grand Prix Final in Japan.

Rounding out the ice dance podium at the 2025 Skate Canada International was Canadian team Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha, who rallied from fourth place to finish with the bronze medal. Their free-dance score of 116.46 points is far from their personal best (125.71), but in a stacked ice dance roster heading into the Olympic Games in February, this duo made a strong statement in front of a home crowd.

American two-time national runners up, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko, finished just off the podium in 4th place at Skate Canada, with what will be a disappointing result for the pair.

"We really went for it today," Ponomarenko said. "We love this program, and I think we showed that. There were a lot of technical points on the table that we lost, but overall, I'm happy with the attack we had today."

Two-time Olympic champion Scott Moir, who coaches the pair, also choreographed their free dance, and Ponomarenko said he felt there was a lot more room for growing the program as the Olympic season continues. "It was a unique build," Ponomarenko said of the choreographic process, largely because the team changed their free dance shortly before the start of the season. Carreira and Ponomarenko next compete at Skate America, Nov. 14-16 in Lake Placid, NY.

U.S. teammates Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville, as well as Leah Neset and Artem Markelov, finished in 9th and 10th, respectively.

The next ISU Figure Skating Grand Prix will be NHK Trophy streaming live on Peacock, Nov, 7-9. A recap will air Sun., Nov. 9 on NBC at 2 p.m.