At a Glance
- Ilia Malinin, 21, is America’s best hope for figure-skating gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy
- In 2022 he became the first skater to land a quadruple axel in competition
- He recently set a record by landing seven quads in a single program
- Why it matters: A victory would complete his résumé and could draw new fans to the sport
Ilia Malinin has already made history by landing the sport’s most difficult jump. Now the 21-year-old is aiming to add the one prize still missing from his collection: Olympic gold.
The Jump That Changed Everything
For decades the quadruple axel-four and a half mid-air rotations in under a second-was considered unattainable. Then, on a nearly empty rink in Lake Placid, N.Y., during the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic, a 17-year-old Malinin became the first person to land it in competition.
“It’s rare in our sport for something to completely shock and awe, and the quad axel does that,” two-time Olympic skater and NBC commentator Johnny Weir told News Of Los Angeles. “Ilia is the figure skating version of the first man on the moon.”
Record-Setting Career
Since that breakthrough, the Virginia native has stacked accolades:
- Four consecutive U.S. national titles
- Back-to-back world championships
- A record seven quadruple jumps in one program last month in Japan
- Multiple successful quad axels, a jump many elite skaters still won’t attempt
Competing in Japan, he set a record with the number of quadruple jumps. “I knew I was going to make history,” he told News Of Los Angeles. “After landing the seventh one, I was like, ‘Oh my God, I just did it.'”
Family of Olympians
Skating is the Malinin family business. His parents-Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov-are two-time Olympians who competed for Uzbekistan and now coach him. His grandfather Valery Malinin is a coach in Russia who used to babysit Ilia at the rink. Even 11-year-old sister Elli is recently crowned a nationally ranked junior skater.
“I thought I was going to be a soccer player,” Malinin admitted, “but my parents didn’t have time to take me to soccer lessons-so skating kind of took over.”
Training and Focus
Malinin balances online classes at George Mason University with a six-hour, six-days-a-week training schedule. Outside the rink he relaxes with skateboarding and art, but romance is on hold.
“I want to put my priorities into my career first and just see where that takes me,” he said.
Road to Italy 2026
With the Winter Games in Italy only months away, Malinin is zeroing in on consistency and health rather than new technical milestones. He plans to fine-tune programs that already include the quad axel and an unprecedented jump count.
“No matter how nervous I’ll be,” he told News Of Los Angeles, “I can just trust everything I do, all my practice and muscle memory, and go out there and deliver.”
Key Takeaways
- Malinin has already landed more quads in one program than any skater in history
- Olympic gold would cap a résumé that already includes world titles and the first quad axel
- His family’s deep Olympic pedigree provides both coaching and inspiration
- Expect technical difficulty, not showmanship, to define his Olympic performance
