NAGOYA, Japan, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Double world champion Ilia Malinin shattered his own world record for the men's singles free programme to win gold at the Grand Prix Final on Saturday, setting the bar sky high ahead of the Milano Cortina Olympics.

The 21-year-old American landed a jaw-dropping seven quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel -- a jump only he has landed in competition -- to score 238.24 points, crushing the previous world-best 228.97 points he recorded at Skate Canada International earlier in the season.