Who is Ilia Malinin? ‘Quad God’ already among best skaters ever

Ilia Malinin was given his “Quad God” nickname when he was just a child, and he has lived up to the billing.

The 21-year-old earned his first Olympic gold medal on Sunday as part of the mixed team event, and now he is the heavy favorite to get some individual hardware.

Malinin dominated his run in the short program on Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Games, positioning himself quite favorably for the medal event.

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Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the figure skating men’s team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

And this is just the beginning for someone who may one day be on the Mount Rushmore of figure skating when it’s all said and done — if he’s not already.

Figure skating is in Malinin’s blood, as both of his parents competed in the Olympics and have impressive resumes themselves. Combined, his parents have 17 national championships in Uzbekistan.

Malinin was a prodigy, winning the 2016 U.S. national juvenile championship and the 2017 intermediate national championship. Malinin continued to dominate as a junior, winning gold at the World Junior Championships in 2022 in the free skate with a new junior world record of 88.99, winning by almost 42 points.

Despite his dominance, Malinin, just 17 at the time, was left off the Olympic roster in favor of veterans, which perhaps lit a fire under him.

Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men’s figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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Since then, he has won singles gold in the last two World Championships, three Grand Prix Finals, and four U.S. Championships, already cementing himself as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time before even heading to Italy. In December, he set the world record for the best free skate score with 238.24.

And no one has really come close to beating him. In last year’s world championships, Malinin’s margin of victory was larger than the point differential between the silver medalist and the ninth-place finisher.

Malinin scored a 108.16 on Tuesday, enough to stay ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who scored a 103.07, and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who scored a 102.55.

Ilia Malinin lands a trick during the men’s figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026.  (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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At this point, it would be a stunning upset if anyone but the “Quad God” won gold later this week — he wasn’t given the nickname by accident. And at just 21 years old, a true dynasty might be on the rise.

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