Portugal Colonial - Malinin back to his best as third world skating title beckons

The 21-year-old American slumped to an eighth-place finish at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games, having led after the short programme in Italy.

But in his first competition since, Malinin hit a quadruple flip, triple Axel and quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination to score a personal best 111.29 points.

Malinin takes a 9.44-point lead over France's Adam Siao Him Fa into Saturday's free skating final. Estonia's Aleksandr Selevko is in third place.

Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the silver medallist at the last two Olympics, is sitting sixth after falling on the takeoff of a planned triple Axel.

The world championships in Prague are taking place just a month after the Olympics where Malinin had been the overwhelming favourite.

The undefeated star of skating for over two years had been leading after the short programme before crumbling under the pressure in the free skate.

Siao Him Fa had a similar experience in Italy after a perfectly executed short programme that placed him third. Then the free skate relegated the Frenchman to seventh.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov went on to win the Olympic gold ahead of Kagiyama and Shun Sato.

Shaidorov is not competing in Prague.

Japan's Sato is fourth going into the free skating final in the Czech Republic.

Meanwhile Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin are leading going into the pairs free skating final later on Thursday.

The German pair hold a slim lead over Georgians Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava.

The two pairs, bronze and silver medallists respectively in Milan, are the clear favourites in the absence of the Olympic champions, Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, who skipped the event.

A.Seabra--PC