Ilia Malinin, the reigning two-time figure skating world champion, is the betting favorite to win gold in the men’s individual competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Malinin made his Olympic debut in Milan during the men’s free skate in the team figure skating event. He delivered a shaky, underwhelming performance per his usual standards. The 21-year-old didn’t want to also perform his free skate in the team event. Malinin wanted to rest up for the men’s event that kicks off on February 10.
With Japan hot on their heels and the gold medal on the line, however, U.S. Figure Skating called Malinin the night before and asked him to reconsider. Malinin ultimately went back out on the ice during which he landed his signature quadruple axel and a backflip on one leg. His score of 200.3 points clinched the gold medal for Team USA.
While Malinin didn’t get extra rest, he has no regrets. “Absolutely, this is definitely the smartest decision I’ve made,” Malinin told USA Today Sports.
GettyIlia Malinin of Team United States celebrates with his team after competing winning the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“I got a chance to just really feel the ice, feel the environment, just feel the atmosphere. I’m just so proud of everyone and myself for what we put out there tonight.”
After Malinin became an Olympic champion, George Mason University, where the Virginia native goes to college, celebrated his historic feat.
Ilia Malinin Is the First George Mason University Student to Win a Winter Olympic Gold Medal
The college, founded in 1957, announced on Instagram that Malinin is the first student or alumnus to win a gold medal at the Winter Olympics. He “accomplished something no other @georgemasonu student has ever done [sic] when he powered the United States to a team figure skating gold medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Games,” the school wrote.
“To support Malinin, large TV screens have been set up in the Johnson Center atrium on the Fairfax Campus and in the lobby of Fuse at Mason Square, giving the Mason Nation the opportunity to gather and cheer one of their own.”
During the 2016 Rio Olympic Summer Games, George Mason alum David Verburg became the school’s first track and field athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. Verburg ran the anchor leg of Team USA’s 4×400 meter relay in the opening round in order to advance to the final. While he didn’t race in the final due to an injury, he still received a gold medal for his contribution.
Ilia Malinin Looks to Break Several Historic Records at the Olympics
Malinin became the first person to ever successfully land a quad axel in competition during the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid, New York.
Ashley Wagner, a 2014 Olympian and three-time national champion, told ESPN, “A quad axel was not something growing up that was even within the vernacular of skating because it’s not possible. It’s something that people accepted was just unskateable. You cannot do that.”
Malinin set a free skate world record by landing six quads during the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships. He earned a record-breaking 227.9 points. Malinin owns the world-best scores in both the free skate and overall totals. He went on to become the first skater to land seven quads during the 2025 Grand Prix Final in December.
There aren’t enough words to capture what Ilia Malinin just did… A record-breaking performance with seven clean quads, including his iconic quad axel.
#GPFigure @ISU_Figure @the_quadg0dAt age 21, Malinin has a long career ahead of him, and he’s already teasing a “quint,” a jump with quintuple rotations.
“I wouldn’t tell people I’m untouchable. I want the opposite,” Malinin told The Associated Press. “I want people to relate to me. Yes, I’m doing all these crazy things on the ice that defy physics in some ways. I still want them to see all of us skaters are human beings.”
Historic Ilia Malinin Announcement Made Before Men’s Short Program