U.S. Men 2025-26 Discussion - Quad God and the Mere Mortals

[Sylvia]

All 3 U.S. Men attained ISU personal best SP scores in Prague today!

Ilia 111.29 in 1st (4F, 3A, 4Lz+3T, all L4s):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Ilia MALININ 🇺🇸 111.29 On enjoying being back on the ice: “It felt really great just being out there. That’s one thing that I really wanted—enjoy. I had no expectations coming into the event. I simply wanted to go. Hone

2,308 likes, 23 comments - goldsk8 on March 26, 2026: "Ilia MALININ 🇺🇸 111.29 On enjoying being back on the ice: “It felt really great just being out there. That’s one thing that I really wanted—enjoy. I had no expectations coming into the event. I simply wanted to go. Honestly, defending the...

www.instagram.com

On enjoying being back on the ice:
“It felt really great just being out there. That’s one thing that I really wanted—enjoy. I had no expectations coming into the event. I simply wanted to go. Honestly, defending the title doesn’t mean so much. I think now I finally realized that over these last few years I’ve done so much for this sport, and now it’s truly my time to go my own way, just be myself and do whatever I want to do.

On breaking records:
“That’s part of my goal, to keep pushing my limits—but at the end of the day, I think I skate better if I tell myself the season will end in two days.”

On what changed since the Olympics:
“I’m trying not to put too many expectations on myself, just really wanting to enjoy what I do and what I love. Of course, I do think a lot about what happened, but I also think about the good parts because there was so much fun at the Olympics. Honestly, it was such an unreal experience that I think I will never ever live something like that again. Well, we will see what happens.. anyways there were a lot of ups and downs, so I just take everything in.”

On winning the sportsmanship award:
“I think it’s very important for everyone to know that even at our worst, we still have to appreciate everything around us. In the end, we should be proud of ourselves for even being able to make it to the Olympics. I’m very proud of myself that I went to my first Olympics, and no matter how the result went, I was so relieved that I could come back with so many good memories and fun memories. That’s motivation for the rest of my career.”

On the crowd reaction: “Honestly, that doesn’t mean that much to me anymore. The main thing I want to focus on is how I feel inside. If I feel good, I can show that to people, and I’m sure they will feel that love and support that I feel for myself.”

Andrew 89.07 in 7th (landed 4T, 3A & 3F+3T; scored 88.94 at Olympics):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Andrew TORGASHEV 🇺🇸 89.07 “To be honest, I was panicking the last two or three weeks. Don’t ask my training mates what I was saying at the rink — it was just hours of complaining, like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ But I go

567 likes, 15 comments - goldsk8 on March 26, 2026: "Andrew TORGASHEV 🇺🇸 89.07 “To be honest, I was panicking the last two or three weeks. Don’t ask my training mates what I was saying at the rink — it was just hours of complaining, like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ But I got myself to be here...

www.instagram.com

“To be honest, I was panicking the last two or three weeks. Don’t ask my training mates what I was saying at the rink — it was just hours of complaining, like, ‘I don’t want to do this.’ But I got myself to be here. My legs are not the same as at the Olympics and what I remember from the Olympics. Everything feels so much harder to do. I was tired, but in the six-minute warm-up, I was shaky before going out on the program, thinking, ‘I really don’t know about this. I don’t know what is going to happen.’ Then I tried to trust myself and rely on the bulk of training that I had at the Olympics and that I was able to deal with this amount of pressure. I tricked myself into thinking I was relaxed, and I just wanted to step on the ice one more time, not get ahead of myself, just get the elements done and enjoy the program. That switch came maybe in the last 30 seconds before I took the ice and when the music started.”

On considering withdrawal:
“I was considering it. If you had talked to my sports psychologist, I was very sad about the idea of withdrawing. But I don’t think I ever could pick up the phone and say, ‘I’m not going to go.’ Sure, I wanted to complain, and maybe what I really felt was, ‘I’d rather sit on the beach,’ especially since in California it’s 90 degrees right now. But this is my job, this is my passion. So it’s important to get it done, and then there will be enough time to enjoy the beach.”

On how proud he is of his performance:
“Considering these circumstances, it feels really good. It gives me a lot of confidence in myself, in my mind. No matter how training is going, I’m able to control what I’m doing. My dream since I was nine years old was to go to the Olympics and skate there — and that’s what I did. I did what I trained for over the last 20 years. My dream wasn’t, ‘I’m going to skate well at the Olympics, and then three weeks later go to Worlds,’ so that was emotionally tough, but more than anything physically, because I kept myself at peak performance from nationals until the end of the Games. That’s a long time, and it was difficult to maintain it on a daily basis at the rink, but I could rely on my muscle memory.”

Jacob 85.15 in 10th (3A, 3F, 3Lz+3T, all L4s):

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Jacob SANCHEZ 🇺🇸 85.15 “It’s so exciting. I mean, just being here in front of you guys, in front of the audience, the judges, in front of all my friends. I’m just filled with so many good emotions. I was so excited and so

344 likes, 7 comments - goldsk8 on March 26, 2026: "Jacob SANCHEZ 🇺🇸 85.15 “It’s so exciting. I mean, just being here in front of you guys, in front of the audience, the judges, in front of all my friends. I’m just filled with so many good emotions. I was so excited and so happy to just be able...

www.instagram.com

“It’s so exciting. I mean, just being here in front of you guys, in front of the audience, the judges, in front of all my friends. I’m just filled with so many good emotions. I was so excited and so happy to just be able to go out there and do what I did.”

On preparing for Worlds on short notice:
“I really had like two days to prepare for this. Actually, I had no time to be nervous. I just came here and I wanted to skate. I had a mindset coming here that I’m not here to compete, that I’m coming here to skate. I feel like I really achieved that this year. I’m very proud. I really feel that I achieved this today. And being able to do it on my World’s figure skating debut is so crazy. I’m so happy. I actually found out that I was going to skate here in the middle of snowboarding. I was just about to go down the mountain when I got a call. It was such a moment. I had the best run of my life and I kept going. I showed up in practice the next day and now I’m here.”

On Jason:
“I haven’t been able to connect with Jason. I’m really hoping he’s doing well. I was really sad to hear that he was not able to compete. He’s been one of my biggest inspirations and it would have been amazing to be here with him to compete in such a big competition. But I hope he’s doing well and I hope I get to see him in the near future.”

On the changes since Nationals and public recognition:
“It’s so crazy. Like after Nationals, just I took my dog out for a walk and people were like, ‘Hey, Jacob, how are you?’ And I was like, ‘Oh wow, you guys know me, this is crazy.’ This is actually the first time being recognized by people. People telling me, even at school, teachers know about me and ask about me. That’s really crazy that people know my story and follow along. Actually, I have a fan account now, which is crazy. That’s something I always dreamt about. I wanted to have one of those fan accounts. It’s so cool. I’m not sure if I’ve met the person who created it in real life, but I hope I will in the future.”

On competing alongside his close friend Ilia at Worlds:
“Being at Worlds together is amazing. We’ve talked a lot, hung out, gone to all the practices together, eaten all our meals together. He’s been so supportive all year, all my career since I met him. He’s been one of my biggest supporters. Being able to be here at Worlds with him—back in August, at our high-performance camp, we actually talked about going to Worlds together. And it happened. We’re so happy to be here, enjoy it, and have fun together.”

ETA link to Phil Hersh's Ilia Malinin article after the SP:

Ilia Malinin puts Olympics behind him with historic World Championships short program

Ilia Malinin recorded the highest short program score in four years and the best of any active skater.

www.nbcsports.com

 

[Debbie S]

On breaking records:

“That’s part of my goal, to keep pushing my limits—but at the end of the day, I think I skate better if I tell myself the season will end in two days.”

 

[Willin]

Ilia's trying to channel Alysa I see. I wonder too if having Jacob there is helping. I know the media played up the Russian-American connection with Maxim and Andrew, but Ilia's never seemed close with them. He has Jacob, who he's very good friends with, here. In the next quad another friend (Patrick Blackwell) is moving up to Senior. I believe he's friends with Caleb Farrington and a few other younger US men as well. I wonder how much having that comradery will help not just Ilia, but all the US men.