COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ilia Malinin has now established herself as the bravest and most spectacular jumper in figure skating; A 19 year old who attempts and completes most jumps would be afraid to even try. He has gone from an unknown to a gold medal favorite for the 2026 Winter Olympics in two years, completing almost every quadruple jump with breathtaking ease.
But pushing the boundaries of what is humanly possible in skating brought Malinin to an uncomfortable point where the pursuit of new, swirling heights threatened to turn him into skating's version of a trick shot artist. So in recent months, Malinin has traded the breathtaking for something that had eluded him in the past: art.
His transformation was on full display Friday afternoon during his short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Nationwide Arena, when the crowd expecting a series of spinning competitions turned to dancing instead. Lots of dancing.
Yes, there were some of Malinin's usual jumps, like a quad lutz and a triple axel, that landed so casually that fans barely grumbled. But midway through a dominant opening session that earned him a score of 108.57, 19 points ahead of his closest competitor, he broke into a series of graceful spins and moves that brought the crowd to its feet. For the first time at a Malinin skate there was a really loud roar from the stands.
From the world rankings: Ilia Malinin lands a quadruple axel and wins bronze
He would later say that he had forgotten how much he loved the energy of the crowd at the US Championships and how much it inspired him. The more the fans cheered for his dance, the happier he felt and the better he performed.
“At the end of the program I was just so excited,” he said. “I was able to hold on for the last few minutes.”
It was at this 2022 event that he made his first star appearance, an unknown from Vienna, Virginia, with his parents, both Russian-born skating stars, as his coaches and an Instagram page of amazing jumps with the strange name “ quadg0d .” But then he was left with only legs and arms and was not considered ready for the U.S. team heading to the Beijing Games. Friday's skater was someone capable of succeeding Nathan Chen as the next American world skating champion.
He has worked to add the artistry that was previously missing from his performances, he said. The efforts are finally showing. He walked to Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona's Malaguena, moving his arms and legs from foot to foot to the Latin guitar. The crowd clapped along. He smiled. At one point he clapped along to the song and the crowd clapped some more.
It was the kind of reaction the figure skating audience has for Jason Brown, the beloved two-time Olympian whose grace is dazzling but who can't perform nearly the gravity-defying jumps of Malinin. Brown, who ran two spots ahead of Malinin, was met with enthusiastic applause when he finished third in the short program. The quadg0d actually received a higher artistic score than the technically great Brown. The difference was less than a point, and yet it said everything about where Malinin stands just two years before the next Winter Games.
“This whole season lately, I've been able to kind of… entertain or just perform throughout the program instead of really focusing on those big elements,” he said.
“Even just eye contact [with fans] “It just increases the energy for me,” he said.
A crowd had finally learned to love Malinin instead of marveling at him. And suddenly he looked more impressive than ever. He wasn't sure how he felt heading into the national competitions after a season in which he won three of his five competitions and placed second in the other two. He has had problems with his skates in recent weeks. Something was wrong. He couldn't figure out what. The boots fit just like the ones before, and yet he was sluggish on the ice and couldn't move as smoothly and freely.
Just before this week, he switched to an old pair of skates from the fall, and everything was fine again: the jumps, the spins – and the dance.
Ilia Malinin, the “Quadgod” of skating, is ready for his next big leap
In a year in which he was less worried about flying, he has become more conservative with his jumps, including the quadruple axel – a jump he landed first in competition last year. He's not sure if he'll try the quad axel in Sunday's free skate. Given his head start and the complexity of the elements he will already be taking on, he probably doesn't need it.
“I have to see how I feel,” he said when asked if he would attempt the jump.
A stunning statement from a man named quadg0d.