At this year’s Winter Olympic Games, Ilia Malinin, already known in the ice skating world as the “Quad God,” took the whole world by storm. Expectations were high for the 21-year-old skating prodigy, who, before the games, was a three-time World and Grand Prix Final champion and was known for being the first figure skater to land the fully rotated quadruple Axel successfully in a competition. While he became the subject of several fancams by young, obsessive fans, Malinin’s Olympic Games story wasn’t just one of success – though he did win gold in the team event – he also experienced failure, as he missed out on gold after falling twice in the free skate. His experience at this year’s games tells a more human story, one of failure and balance, and as he told Michele Mansoor in his Dazed cover story, this loss has taught him that he still has “so much to learn”. 

Malinin is still trying to figure it all out – but he is still one of the most exciting names in figure skating today. Below, we look back at some of our favourite performances from the Quad God, from as early as 2016.

US FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2016 

There are no overnight success stories in figure skating. Most athletes have been training almost as long as they could walk, and Malinin was no exception – he began training aged six. By the time he turned 11, he was starting to catch public attention. Then, at the 2016 US Championships, he landed two double axels during his free skate. “I’ve been working to land both of my axels for a long time, probably six months,” he said at the time. 

US INTERNATIONAL FIGURE SKATING CLASSIC, 2022

Malinin was 15 when he landed his first quadruple jump. Two years later, he made history, becoming the first-ever skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, during the CSU Classic International. The jump is widely considered the most difficult trick in skating, earning him the gold medal in the men’s singles and sparking his nickname as the “Quad God”. 

WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS, 2024

Ilia Malinin's historic skate to the music from Succession
by u/shiftshinee in olympics

In March 2024, Malinin won his first senior World Championship title in Montreal, Canada. Skating to the Succession theme song, the routine has become one of his most famous performances to this day, earning him a record-breaking total score of 333.76. After landing six quadruple axels, his free skate score, 227.79, broke the world record under the current ISU scoring system. 

GRAND PRIX FINAL, 2025 

At the Grand Prix Final in December 2025, Malinin broke his own record of landing six quadruple axels by landing seven, making him the first skater in a competition to do so. “This is one of the best skates I’ve ever had,” Malinin said at the time. “I went out on the ice and I had to fight for every single element.” He took home the gold and cemented his place at Milan Cortina 2026. 

EXHIBITION GALA, 2026 

One of his most powerful performances of all time happened in February this year at the Winter Olympics’ Exhibition Gala. The skater had been a favourite to win the men’s gold medal, but was left disappointed after a struggle in his free skate. The Exhibition Gala provided him with an opportunity to go out with a bang, leaving with positive memories rather than disappointment. He skated to “Fear” by American rapper NF, a song about mental health and the fear of losing control. “What happened in Milan was definitely a learning curve, something that I really learned from,” he says in his Dazed cover interview. “It helped me to understand that I am so much more than just figure skating, and that I have so much more to learn. I went to the Olympics thinking that I knew everything.” See the full photoshoot and read the interview here.