Malinin’s incredible performance in the Free Skate on Sunday helped give the United States its second straight Olympic gold in the Team Event, narrowly squeaking by the strong Japanese squad. Kagiyama actually posted a better score than Malinin in the Short Program late last week.

The Olympic Team Event came down to the final skater on Sunday. In front of a packed house inside the Milano Ice Skating arena, the United States narrowly defeated Japan for its second consecutive team gold.