Ilia Malinin is the reigning world champion figure skater known as the “Quad God,” and he is going for gold in the individual men’s competition on Friday, February 13 at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. After helping Team USA win gold in the team event with a historic performance, Malinin enters the free skate as the favorite. Here’s what you need to know.
1. Ilia Malinin Landed a Historic Backflip at the Olympics
Malinin stunned audiences by landing a backflip during the team event, a move outlawed in 1976 due to safety concerns. Before him, American Terry Kubicka was the last skater to land it legally at the Games.
Malinin could also attempt the first Olympic quadruple axel in the men’s free skate.
“I’m hoping that I’ll feel good enough to do it,” Malinin told reporters. “But I always prioritize health and safety.”
He emphasized that he wants to be in the right mindset and not treat the jump as “something that I’m going to risk.”
2. Ilia Malinin Is the Only Skater to Land a Quad Axel in Competition
In 2022, Malinin became the first person to land a quadruple axel in competition. The four-revolution jump is widely considered the hardest in figure skating.
Since then, he has won two World Championships, three Grand Prix Finals, and four U.S. Championships. In December, he set a world record free skate score of 238.24.
At the Olympics, he scored 108.16 in the team event, finishing ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa.
3. The ‘Quad God’ Comes From an Olympic Skating Family
Malinin’s parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, both competed at the Olympics for Uzbekistan in 1998 and 2002.
Malinina became the first Four Continents Champion in 1999 and the first Uzbekistan skater to medal at ISU Championships. Skorniakov won the Uzbekistan national title in 1997.
After retiring in 2002, both became coaches. Malinina told NBC Sports that they initially kept Malinin at the rink after school while they coached.
“He was surprisingly good,” she later said.
4. Ilia Malinin Was a Prodigy Who Missed the 2022 Olympic Team
Malinin won the 2016 U.S. juvenile national title and the 2017 intermediate championship. He later captured gold at the 2022 World Junior Championships with a free skate score of 88.99.
Despite that success, he was left off the 2022 Olympic roster in favor of veterans. Since then, he has dominated senior competition and established himself as one of the sport’s top athletes.
5. Malinin Once Planned to Be a Soccer Player
The “Quad God” told People in January 2026 that skating was not his first plan.
“I thought I was going to be a soccer player,” Malinin said. “But my parents didn’t have time to take me to soccer lessons — so skating kind of took over.”
When asked if his parents pushed him into the sport, he told CBS News in February 2026 that they didn’t want him to skate “at all.”
“They wanted me to do something else, ’cause they know,” he explained. “They went through all those years of hard work, dedication, commitment to get to where they were, two-time Olympians. And now they coach skating.”
Malinin added, “So, they were like, ‘Oh, we don’t want another skater in our family.’ But here I am. Me and my sister skate now. So it’s like, okay!”
He began skating at age six and initially practiced only three days a week.
Now, with Olympic team gold secured and individual gold within reach, Malinin has the opportunity to add another historic chapter to his career on February 13.
‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin: Five Fast Facts You Need to Know