More people have landed on the moon than attempted the feat facing the 'Quad God' at the Winter Olympics
Updated . First published
Ilia Malinin is your favourite Winter athlete's favourite athlete.
Known colloquially as the 'Quad God', Malinin has become a cult hero at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. On Monday morning, he delivered on the hype and secured the USA a gold medal in the figure skating team event after a high-stakes, dramatic showdown with Team Japan.
At just 21 years old, the figure skater from Virginia, USA, has fundamentally transformed the sport of figure skating forever and rewritten the laws of physics.
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And he's only getting started.
At his debut Winter Games, Malinin is expected to top each of the standings in anything he competes in, the debutant so far ahead of the field that competes alongside him.
Ilia Malinin is a crowd favourite in the figure skating in Italy. Getty
On Monday morning, Team USA picked up the gold medal in the team figure skating event after many believed Team Japan might have the reigning champs bested.
Staged across three days, the team event requires countries to bring together figure skating's four disciplines - men's singles, women's singles, pairs and ice dance - into a single medal contest.
Watch the Winter Olympic Games Milano Cortina 2026 live and free on Channel 9 and 9Now. Plus, every event live & on demand, every medal in 4K, and exclusive international coverage on Stan Sport.
Japan's iconic pair, Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi, delivered a showstopping performance that edged Japan to the top of the leader board.
But as Malinin skated onto the ice to perform and ready to make his mark on the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Gold medallists Ilia Malinin (right), Amber Glenn and Alyssa Liu of Team United States. Getty
He posted a 200.03 score that pulled the USA ahead of Japan by a single point.
It was enough to defend the gold and take the country's first medal in figure skating for the 2026 Games.
Where did the nickname come from?
Malinin created history when he landed a jump that the world thought was physically impossible: the quadruple axel.
A four-and-a-half revolution jump in the air, Malinin, then 17, landed the first quadruple axel in history about 22 seconds into his long program at Skate America in Norwood, Massachusetts.
Team United States celebrates their gold medal at the Milan-Cortina Olympic Games. Getty
The International Skating Union only counts jumps if they're landed in a competition, and all 10 times this jump has been landed in competition can be attributed to the 21-year-old, with no one close to attempting his signature move.
"You think of legends in other sports - Simone Biles, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods - Ilia Malinin is that for figure skating," commentator Johnny Weir told NBC Olympics ahead of the Games.
"He's done elements that we never thought we'd see in our lifetime.
"Every time we watch him skate, it's like watching the moon landing."
Ice skaters, especially in the men's competition, have usually been quiet and unassuming athletes, but Malinin breaks this mould.
Regularly skating to rap songs and having a prominent social media presence with his smiley, goofy persona for the cameras, the United States debutant is exactly what the sport needed in the absence of retired stars such as Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu.
Ilia Malinin's free skate routine led Team USA to gold in the team competition. Getty
And the crowd is always expecting an exciting backflip in most of his performances, something the star adds to his performances for the 'vibe'.
How is he so good?
Malinin's only consistent rival is himself and the now-limitless possibility of the sport.
He is the child of a Russian-born mother, Tatiana Malinina, who competed at the 1998 Olympics for Uzbekistan and won the prestigious Grand Prix Final the next year.
His Russian-born father, Roman Skorniakov, competed for Uzbekistan at both the 1998 and 2002 Winter Games.
Malinin's genes go deeper, though.
Ilia Malinin of Team United States competes in Men's Single Skating - Free Skating Team Event. Getty
His grandfather, Valery Malinin, competed for the Soviet Union and still coaches in Russia.
The boy was practically skating before walking, which has created a superstar USA athlete.
But Malinin is also leading a US team that boasts three reigning world champions in its midst.
The United States have brought depth and experience with them to Italy, the powerhouse trio of Malinin, Alysa Liu and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates meant their team was back to defend their figure skating team title from Beijing.
Ilia Malinin reacts with his teammates as his score comes through after performing his routine. Getty
And on Monday morning, they did just that.
After picking up his first Olympic gold medal, Malinin now sets his sights on the individual men's figure skating - short program, set to begin on Wednesday.
He will compete alongside his USA teammates, Maxim Naumov and Andrew Torgashev.
