With the Winter Olympics finally here, viewers have been buzzing over a new sensation in men’s single figure skating: young American Ilia Malinin, aged only 21. But what makes him so special, and does the rise of another figure skating sensation herald something deeper for the sport?
Malinin, born in Fairfax Virginia to Uzbek national figure skaters Tatiana Malinin and Roman Skorniakov, has been skating competitively since the age of 6, winning his first international title at the Philadelphia Summer International at the age of 15. Now, only 6 years later, Malinin is the 4 time consecutive champion of the U.S. Championships in men’s single skating and is eyeing elusive gold hardware at the Milan Cortina Olympics. On Sunday, while much of the U.S. sports world was focused on the Super Bowl, he helped the U.S. team squeak out a gold team medal over Japan with a stunning singles performance. So what is so special about Malinin, what earned him his many international medals? The hint is in his nickname. Self-proclaimed and universally accepted Ilia “Quad God” Malinin is renowned for his unique ability to land a quadruple axel on ice in competition, a skill that requires 4.5 rotations in the air. This landmark skill is not the only asset of Malinin’s. In the Grand Prix final in Nagoya, Japan this past December, Malinin successfully landed 7 quadruple jumps, with all 6 types represented, as well as a back flip, in one routine.
In addition to landing a ground-breaking set, Malinin must meet the two judging categories for the men’s single skating event: the Technical Element Score and the Program Component Score , which create a combined Total Segment Score. This year, the Milan Cortina 2026 men’s single skating competition will be completed Friday, Feb. 13, with the free skate, which follows the Feb. 10 short program. At the end of this competition, the combined Total Segment Score of the two routines will determine the winner.
According to the Olympic Winter Games, Malinin sees a future beyond Milan Cortina 2026. “That’s a goal for me to at least skate for another three Olympic cycles,” he said. The only male singles skater to have accomplished this feat is Swedish skater Gillis Grafstrom, whose Olympic career lasted from 1920-1932.
Beyond the glittering ice of Milan Cortina or Malinin’s bold Olympic prospects, what does his career mean for the figure skating community? In an interview with NBC, Malinin said he hopes to be part of a renewed fan interest in figure skating. “I really want figure skating to be big and popular like it was decades ago…huge stadiums sold out,” he said. “Tons of shows, on every news platform – that’s what I want skating to be brought back to.” If Malinin can build on his superstar status in Milan, and the gold medal he has already helped Team USA get, he may have a chance of fulfilling that goal.