PRAGUE ¨C American Ilia Malinin banished the ghosts of his disastrous Olympics on Thursday, skating into the lead after ?the men¡¯s short program?at the World Championships a month after ?a shock ?eighth-place finish in Milan.

The 21-year-old ¡°Quad God¡± opened with a ?huge quadruple flip, followed up with a quadruple lutz, and delighted the crowd with a backflip to record a personal best 111.29 points, putting ?him on track for a third successive world title.

¡°I was definitely coming back to ?prove to myself that (the Olympic result) was a one-time thing,¡± Malinin said. ¡°But now I realize this is much more than just ?skating, it¡¯s being able to ?go and enjoy and have fun.

¡°Coming here I had no big expectations. It¡¯s been a lot. After ?the music ended I ?was relieved and thought ¡¯it¡¯s done.¡¯¡±

Adam Siao Him Fa ?of France heads into Saturday¡¯s free program?in second place ?with a ?score of 101.85, and Estonian Aleksandr Selevko is a surprise third with 96.49.

Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, the shock Olympic champion in Milan, is not competing at the world championships.

Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of ?Japan was sixth on Thursday after a fall on his triple axel.

Malinin had arrived at the event with redemption in mind after a collapse at the Olympics he said was caused by pressure and the magnitude of the moment.

He ?had ?been overwhelming favorite for gold in Milan, but crumbled ?under the weight of expectations, and his free program?unraveled in stunning ?fashion.

¡°It¡¯s nothing specific,¡± he said, regarding refocusing after the Olympics. ¡°I tell myself that it¡¯s in the past already, it¡¯s over, you have to get up and keep going. Everything happens for a reason.

¡°As for (Saturday¡¯s) ?free, we¡¯ll see a program?being finished, that¡¯s for sure.¡±

Malinin¡¯s short program?score on Thursday was just shy of American Nathan Chen¡¯s world record of 113.97 set in 2022.

The pairs free program?is scheduled for later on Thursday.