NAGOYA, Japan (AP) — Yuma Kagiyama upstaged world champion Ilia Malinin of the United States to lead the men’s short program at the figure skating Grand Prix Final on Thursday.

Malinin hasn't lost a competition in more than two years and is the gold medal favorite for the Milan Cortina Olympics but stepped out of his opening jump, a quadruple axel-triple toe loop combination, and finished third behind Kagiyama and his Japanese compatriot Shun Sato.

Malinin wasn’t fazed by the mistake on the quad axel, calling it an experiment that was something he likely wouldn't attempt at the Olympics.

“I just wanted to try this combo out,” Malinin said. “It was the first time in a competition and it didn't work out so I had to just continue with the program.”

Malinin also lost points on a quadruple

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