(Photo credit: Katie Stratman-Imagn Images)

Ilia Malinin, a heavy favorite who didn't medal in men's figure skating at the Milan Cortina Olympics, skated a personal best in the short program to take a big lead at the World Championships in Prague on Thursday.

In his first competition since the Olympics last month, Malinin registered 111.29 points, which is the highest score in a men's short program at the World Championships in four years.

His lead entering the final round on Saturday is 9.44 points -- the biggest in the competition since 2019 -- over Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa.

Malinin, known as the 'Quad God,' has won the past two world titles. But he said he learned a lot about skating -- and himself -- as he finished eighth at the Olympics after a disastrous free skate.

'I was definitely coming back to prove myself that (the Olympics) was (a) one-time thing, but now I realize this is much more than just skating,' Malinin told the International Skating Union. 'It's being able to go and enjoy and have fun. Coming here I had no big expectations.'

The fans had expectations, undoubtedly, of his hallmark big jumps, and he delivered. He cleanly landed a quadruple Lutz-triple toe loop combination, a quad flip and a triple Axel.

Malinin's defeat at the Olympics was his first in 14 competitions, a streak that began in December 2023.

He has come to terms with his trip to Italy. He did return home with a gold medal won with fellow Americans in the team competition.

'Another version of me and another part of me kind of appeared out of nowhere (after the Olympics), and that's just the person of not trying to put so much expectation on me and really just wanting to enjoy what I do and what I love,' he said.

Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia, who finished 16th at the Olympics, is in third place.

--Field Level Media