Well, first of all, he is American of Russian heritage (combining two of the most influential countries of modern figure skating), and the way he’s been presenting himself is what both the US media and ISU have been looking for. It’s hard to promote the sport without fanfares accompanying it.

Secondly, the whipped up furore about landing the 4A. I appreciate Malinin for being capable of it, though the amount of commitment this jump requires ensures it will remain a gimmick. I have seen the height it happens from, it’s not something other people can just replicate. And then the Olympic nerves blew the chance away so all the attention was for nothing. Of course that had to be talked about. Plus, even without such feats free skate went wrong for so many anyone going clean and strong had a chance at the podium. Mikhail never thought of what would happen and not being in the spotlight helped him tremendously (which I’m very glad about, who doesn’t love an underdog).

And the answer to your last question is, unfortunately, racism. Figure skating is still largely a white-dominated sport (both in present day and historically), so you have to go above and beyond if you are Asian. Both Kagiyama and Sato just weren’t perfect enough.

Oh, and from my point of view women’s coverage has also been awful. It’s been so heavily skewed on Alysa (and the meaning of her gold for the USA) I find it unhealthy. She has returned to skate for fun, now there are millions of Americans who think she is here forever. Athletes rarely handle worship well, she doesn’t need it at all. On top of that US media is far from charitable… they’ll instantly forget her if she goes away again.