Born and raised in Fairfax, Virginia, Ilia Malinin began his Olympic figure skating journey at just six years old. Initially, skating was just a hobby for Malinin. His parents, both being Olympic figure skaters, paved the way for his venture into the world of figure skating. 

In the figure skating community, Malinin is known as the “Quad God”. This is because of his impressive accomplishment as the first and only figure skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, and his consistency in incorporating them into his routines. Malinin’s ability to use such a prestigious jump during competitions set the bar extremely high for him and his capability to compete for Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics. 

However, the pressure became too much for Malinin during his routine in the Men’s Free Skate category. After bailing out multiple of his quadruple axels, replacing them with single axels, or double loops, Malinin attempted to make a quad jump, but instead fell twice during the entirety of his routine. These careless mistakes shocked fans and judges due to their being so uncommon for Malinin. He ended up placing 8th in the final ranking.

“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling, is the most honest way to say it,” Malin said. “So many eyes, so much attention. It can really get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it. That may be one of the mistakes I made; I was not ready to handle that to the fullest extent.”