Who is Yuma Kagiyama? Meet the Japanese figure skater who outshined Ilia Malinin at 2026 Winter Olympics

Saturday's men's short program figured to be a coronation of sorts for American figure skating star Ilia Malinin.

The Virginia native, dubbed "Quad God" for his penchant for fully rotated quadruple axels, was tipped to help Team USA cement its place atop the team event standings before the field shrunk from 10 teams to five.

Malinin, known for acrobatic spins, depth-defying leaps and backflips, was the highest-profile name entering Saturday's competition. He authored up a solid, if unspectacular display, posting a 98.00 scoreline after falling victim to a few technical miscues.

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Malinin was replaced in the spotlight by a gifted -- albeit understated -- talent: Yuma Kagiyama.

Kagiyama blew Malinin out of the water, waltzing, hopping and sauntering his way to a glistening 108.67 showing -- more than 10 points better than his American adversary.

So, just who is Kagiyama? Here's what you need to know about one of men's figure skating's best kept secrets.

MORE: USA Olympic figure skating results

Who is Yuma Kagiyama?

Kagiyama is one of the brightest talent's in world figure skating. The Japanese supernova is a two-time Olympic silver medalist and three-time World Championships silver medalist who has drawn admirers for his clean skating, elegant twirls and inch-perfect technique.

A native of Nagoya, the capital and most populous city in the Aichi Prefecture, Kagiyama was tipped for figure skating excellence at a young age. He started his youth career in earnest as a five-year-old, waltzing across white at Kazakoshi Park Ice Arena -- the center his father worked at as a coach. One could argue Kagiyama has skating brilliance in his blood -- his father is Masakazu Kagiyama, a two-time Olympian who claimed three Japanese national titles during his career.

Kagiyama went pro in 2020 at 17, emerging as one of Japan's best figure skating prospects. He finished second in the men's short program and men's free skate at the 2021 World Championships, falling just short of Olympic gold medalists Yuzuru Hanyu and Nathan Chen, respectively.

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With his performance at Worlds, Kagiyama landed a spot in the 2022 Winter Olympics. He made it count, finishing second in the men's short program while landing another silver medal as a part of Japan's second-place team event roster.

"No matter how well I perform, no matter how I’m satisfied, I know there’s a few [skaters] above me," Kagiyama said of his performance at the 2022 Winter Olympics, according to Olympics.com. "I still have some catching up to do."

Kagiyama picked up another three medals in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 World Championships. He also hoisted his first Japanese national title in 2024. With his win, Kagiyama and his father became the second father-son duo to have both claimed a Japanese national championship, joining Tsuguhiko and Takahiko Kozuka.

Yuma Kagiyama short program

Here is a look at Kagiyama's men's short program in the team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics:

Yuma Kagiyama height

Kagiyama is 5-3. He is far smaller than many of his foes, including Malinin (5-9), Chen (5-6), Daniel Grassl (5-9) and Andrew Torgashev (5-7).

Yuma Kagiyama age

Kagiyama is 22 years old. He'll turn 23 on May 5. A Four Continents Champion, three-time Grand Prix Final medalist, nine-time Grand Prix medalist and three-time ISU Challenger Series medalist, Kagiyama nabbed a silver medal at the 2021 World Championships. With his accolade, he became the youngest podium finisher since Hanyu collected bronze at 2012 Worlds.