NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
Ilia Malinin received his nickname “Quad God” when he was just a child, and it lived up to his expectations.
The 21-year-old won his first Olympic gold medal on Sunday in the mixed team event, and he is now the hot favorite to secure individual hardware.
Malinin dominated his race in the short program on Tuesday at the Milan Cortina Games, positioning himself quite favorably for the medal event.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Ilia Malinin of the United States competes in the men’s figure skating team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, February 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Stéphanie Scarbrough)
And that’s just the beginning for someone who could one day be on figure skating’s Mount Rushmore when all is said and done – if it hasn’t already.
Figure skating is in Malinin’s blood, as both of his parents competed in the Olympics and have impressive resumes themselves. Together, his parents have 17 national championships in Uzbekistan.
Malinin was a prodigy, winning the United States Juvenile National Championship in 2016 and the Intermediate National Championship in 2017. Malinin continued to dominate as a junior, winning gold at the Junior World Championships in 2022 in the free skate with a new junior world record of 88.99, winning by nearly 42 points.
Despite his dominance, Malinin, just 17 at the time, was left off the Olympic roster in favor of veterans, which may have lit a fire under him.
Ilia Malinin of the United States competes in the men’s figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, February 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
OLYMPIC MEDALIST VOLUNTARILY ADMITS TO CHEATING ON HIS ‘GOLD MEDAL’ GIRLFRIEND OF 6 MONTHS IN EMOTIONAL INTERVIEW
Since then, he has won singles gold at the last two World Championships, three Grand Prix Finals and four United States Championships, already cementing himself as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time even before heading to Italy. In December, he set the world record for the highest score in the free skate with 238.24.
And no one has really managed to beat him. At last year’s World Championships, Malinin’s margin of victory was larger than the points gap between the silver medalist and the ninth place finisher.
Malinin scored 108.16 on Tuesday, enough to stay ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who scored 103.07, and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who scored 102.55.
Ilia Malinin performs a trick during the men’s figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, February 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
At this point, it would be a stunning upset if anyone other than the “Quad God” took home gold later this week – that nickname wasn’t given by accident. And at just 21 years old, a real dynasty could be born.
