Ilia Malinin entered the 2026 Winter Olympics as one of the favorites to bring home gold for the United States. The “Quad God” had established himself as one of the world’s top figure skaters in recent years, winning back-to-back World Championship titles in the singles event and claiming gold at the past four U.S. Championships.
Malinin made his Olympic debut at Milan Cortina 2026 in the team event, earning 19 points to help Team USA capture the gold medal. The United States finished with 69 total points, narrowly edging Japan. Joining Malinin on the roster were ice dance duo Madison Chock and Evan Bates, “Blade Angels” members Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn, and pair skaters Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea.
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But Malinin was not done there, as he set his sights on a second gold medal in the men’s singles event. Entering as a medal contender, he opened with a strong short program, finishing first with 108.16 points. However, the free skate did not go as planned, as he committed several jump errors and scored 156.33, dropping to eighth overall.
While Malinin did not deliver the singles performance he had hoped for, the 21-year-old has no plans of slowing down. When asked about his future goals on Sunday, he said he is aiming for a redemption performance and will pursue a third straight gold medal at the 2026 World Championships.
"My next goal is to have a redemption skate at the World Championships," Malinin said. "And after that, just, you know, the stress of the Olympic season and it will be finally over."
Malinin will have a quick turnaround before the 2026 World Championships, taking place from March 24 to 29 at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czech Republic.