Lombardia Trophy 2024: Ilia Malinin makes stunning season debut in short program

The American skater put down a blistering clean skate to finish more than 10 points ahead of his nearest rival in Bergamo.

Malinin, 17, opened his competitive season with a spectacular performance at the Lombardia Trophy in Bergamo, Italy, on Friday, scoring a personal best of 110.36 points.

The two-time Junior World Champion landed a phenomenal quad Axel as part of his routine and went on to execute clean quadruple jumps.

The 17-year-old is the first skater to land a quad Axel in international competition.

Malinin's total score was more than 10 points ahead of his nearest rival, Japan's Sota Yamamoto, who finished second with 99.70 points.

Fellow American Jimmy Ma placed third with a score of 96.83 points.

Following his victory, Malinin told reporters that he was "really happy" with his performance and was looking forward to the rest of the season.

"I've been working really hard on my quads, and it's great to see them paying off," he said.

"I'm still a bit rusty, but overall, I'm happy with where I'm at right now.

"I'm looking forward to the rest of the season and seeing what I can achieve."

Malinin's performance was one of the highlights of the opening day of the Lombardia Trophy, which is the first ISU Grand Prix event of the season.

The competition continues on Saturday with the women's short program and the men's free skate.