HALIFAX — American figure skating star Ilia Malinin dominated the field and won the men’s gold medal at Skate Canada International on Sunday.

The reigning world champion received a standing ovation for his vampire-themed free skate – which included a backflip – to win a Grand Prix title on back-to-back weekends. Malinin also won Skate America in Allen, Texas this past Sunday.

The 19-year-old scored a total of 301.82 points. Japan’s Shun Sato (261.16) won silver while South Korea’s Junhwan Cha (260.31) won bronze.

Aleksa Rakic ​​of Burnaby, British Columbia, scored 222.49 and was the top Canadian, finishing seventh among the 12 skaters.

Toronto’s Stephen Gogolev (216.84) dropped to ninth after finishing fifth in the short program.

Roman Sadovsky of Vaughan, Ont., withdrew for medical reasons after finishing last in the short program on Saturday.

Later Sunday, ice dancers Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier will compete in the free dance, Skate Canada’s final event. Gilles and Poirier ranked first after the free program, ahead of their compatriots Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha.

Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps repeated as pairs champions on Saturday, while three-time world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan won gold in the women’s event.

The Grand Prix, the highest series in figure skating, consists of six events and a final. Next up is the French Grand Prix from November 1-3.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published October 27, 2024.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press