The U.S. Figure Skating Championships, the sport's annual national title event and the final qualifier for next month's 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortino, are underway this week in St. Louis, Mo.

Ilia Malinin delivered such a flawless short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Thursday night that it seemed to awe even himself, and it set the 21-year-old well on his way to a four...