Semen Daniliants narrowly misses qualification for the free program at the 2026 World Championships

Armenian figure skater Semen Daniliants performed in the short program at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships in Prague. The 19-year-old athlete scored 70.94 points, which was just short of qualifying for the free program.

Daniliants finished 26th out of 36 participants. To qualify, he needed to place in the top 24 — missing the cutoff by only 1.06 points.

American skater Ilia Malinin took first place by a wide margin, arriving in the Czech Republic determined to bounce back after a disappointing performance at the Olympic Games.

Top 5 in the men's short program:

1. Ilia Malinin (USA) — 111.29
2. Adam Siao Him Fa (France) — 101.85
3. Aleksandr Selevko (Estonia) — 96.49
4. Shun Sato (Japan) — 95.84
5. Stephen Gogolev (Canada) — 94.38

Later today, Armenia’s representatives Karina Akopova and Nikita Rakhmanin, who placed 8th in the short program, will compete in the free program in pairs skating.