Ilia Malinin and Chock/Bates are at the forefront of the Grand Prix Final as they head into the free programs.

Americans Ilia Malinin and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates are in a strong position to defend their titles at the Grand Prix Final, the premier event in figure skating.

Malinin, celebrating his 20th birthday last Monday, executed a quadruple flip, a triple Axel, and a quad Lutz-triple toe loop combination during the men’s short program in Grenoble, France.

He accumulated 105.43 points, establishing a commanding 11.94-point advantage over Japan’s Olympic and world silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama as they head into Saturday’s free skate, which will be broadcast live on Peacock. Kagiyama stumbled on his first quad Salchow.

Malinin has clinched victory in his last six competitions, a winning streak that began at the Grand Prix Final last December. He took a month off from competition before the Final after securing wins in the first two events of the Grand Prix regular season.

GRAND PRIX FINAL: Broadcast Schedule | Full Results

“Preparation for the Final has been somewhat smoother this year as I had extra time to develop the program and fine-tune the choreography,” he stated, as reported by the International Skating Union. “I feel more assured compared to last year. I also believe my artistry has gotten better, along with how I construct a program.”

Earlier on Friday, Chock and Bates took the lead in the rhythm dance, aiming for a record-equaling sixth Grand Prix Final ice dance medal.

Chock and Bates, who are the reigning world champions, scored 87.73 points, marking the highest rhythm dance score globally since the world championships last March.

They adopted a novel theme for their rhythm dance this season — a “journey through the decades,” featuring a blend of seven different songs performed on Friday.

“I feel like our experimentation has yielded positive results,” Bates remarked, according to the ISU.

They hold a 4.61-point advantage over Italian duo Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri heading into Saturday’s free dance.

Canadians Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, last season’s world silver medalists, are currently in last place among the six couples. During their rhythm dance, Poirier fell after one skate hit the boards.

Chock and Bates, who remained undefeated last season, entered this event ranked No. 1 in the world based on their top total score this season. They secured their first Grand Prix Final medal in 2014.

The record for the most Grand Prix Final ice dance medals, six, is jointly held by Meryl Davis and Charlie White (2014 Olympic gold medalists with five titles), Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir (2010 and 2018 Olympic gold medalists), and Marina Anissina and Gwendal Peizerat (2002 Olympic gold medalists).

The inaugural Grand Prix Final occurred during the 1995-96 season, showcasing the world’s top six couples from the six-event fall Grand Prix Series. It often serves as a precursor to the world championships the following March.

German duo Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin made history as the first pairs’ team to successfully defend their Grand Prix Final title in 13 years.

Hase and Volodin topped both Thursday’s short program and Friday’s free skate, accruing a total of 218.10 points, which is just shy of their world-leading score of 218.44 this season.

The last pair to repeat their title was also German — Aljona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy in 2011.

“I felt the competition here was, by my estimation, ten times tougher than last year,” Hase remarked, according to the ISU.

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the 2023 World champions, finished second, 11.39 points behind. Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava secured third place, marking Georgia’s first Grand Prix Final medal across any discipline.

The U.S. champions Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea landed fifth out of six pairs in their inaugural Final appearance, becoming the fourth U.S. pair to compete in the Grand Prix Final in the last 15 competitions.

The event did not feature reigning world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps from Canada, who announced their withdrawal on Monday due to Deschamps’ illness.