American figure skater Ilya Malinin. Biography

In 2026, American figure skater Ilya Malinin became a three-time world champion and Olympic champion in the team tournament of the Milan Games. The first in history to perform the quadruple axel in official competitions, he also won the World Championship three times in a row and became one of the most decorated figure skaters of his generation. At the same time, Malinin's sports career is closely linked to Russian figure skating: both of his parents were born in Russia and competed in international competitions for Uzbekistan. About the figure skater's sporting career, his main achievements and family ties with Russia — in the material of Izvestia.

Early years and early career

Ilya Malinin was born on December 2, 2004 in Fairfax, Virginia, USA. He grew up in a family of professional figure skaters: his mother Tatiana Malinina and father Roman Skornyakov were born in Russia and represented Uzbekistan internationally. Both participated in the Winter Olympics: Tatiana competed at the 1998 Games in Nagano and in 2002 in Salt Lake City, and Roman also competed at the 1998 and 2002 Olympics.

Since early childhood, Ilya spent a lot of time at the ice rink where his parents trained. According to the American Figure Skating Federation, he started practicing this sport at the age of about six or seven years. At first, Tatiana and Roman did not want their son to repeat their professional path: they knew how much effort and time preparation required. However, gradually the boy became interested in figure skating and decided to connect his life with it.

At the same time, Malinin, according to his own words, began to take a serious interest in his sports career at about the age of 13. Among the skaters he was targeting, the athlete named American Nathan Chen, Japanese Yuzuru Hanyu and Shoma Uno. His parents became not only Ilya's first mentors, but also his coaches throughout his career. Currently, Rafael Harutyunyan is also working with him.

Sports career: junior successes and records

One of Malinin's first major international achievements was winning the World Junior Championships in 2022. The tournament was held in Tallinn, where the American scored 276.11 points in the sum of two programs. His result became a world record among juniors at that time. In the same year, the figure skater made history by performing the quadruple axel at the U.S. International Classic in Lake Placid. Before him, this jump, involving four and a half turns in the air, had never been performed cleanly by anyone in an official tournament.

In December 2023, Malinin became the first figure skater to perform all six types of quadruple jumps in competition. In the same season, he won the Grand Prix Final for the first time. In subsequent years, the American consolidated his leadership in adult figure skating: in 2023 he won the bronze medal at the World Championships, and in 2024 he became the world champion for the first time. In 2025 and 2026, he won the world championship again, bringing the number of titles to three in a row. In addition, Malinin has won the Grand Prix finals three times - in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

In December 2025, at the Grand Prix finals in Nagoya, Japan, the athlete performed seven quadruple jumps in one free program. According to the International Skating Union (ISU), he remains the only figure skater who has managed to perform a quadruple axel in competition and seven quadruple jumps in one program. In March 2025, the ISU named Malinin the figure skater of the year.

In 2026, he won the U.S. Championship for the fourth time in a row. In the short program of the national championship, the athlete received 115.10 points, which was the second result in the history of the US championship, second only to the result of Nathan Chen (115.39 points).

Malinin has also repeatedly spoken about his desire to master the fifth jump. The skater continues to work on increasing the technical complexity of the programs, combining quadruple jumps with acrobatic elements, including backflips.

The 2026 Olympics and the achievements after

The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo marked Malinin's debut. The American approached the tournament in the status of one of the main contenders for victory in men's single skating: before the Games, he won the World Championship twice in a row, won the Grand Prix final three times and won the US championship four times. In addition, before the Olympics, the figure skater had not lost in individual competitions since December 2023, having won 14 in a row.

Malinin won his first Olympic medal in the team tournament. He was a member of the U.S. national team, which won the competition and received gold awards. However, the individual tournament turned out differently for the figure skater. After the short program, the American took first place, but in the free skate he made several serious mistakes: instead of the planned quadruple axel, he performed a single jump, doubled the quadruple loop and fell twice. As a result, he scored 264.49 points and finished the competition in eighth position.

After the Olympics, Malinin returned to the ice at the World Championships in Prague, which took place on March 24-29, 2026. He won the short and free programs, scored 329.40 points and won his third consecutive world title. The athlete received 218.11 points for the free program. Thus, after failing in the individual Olympic tournament, Malinin managed to become the winner of the main competition of the season again.