U.S. Men 2025-26 Discussion - Quad God and the Mere Mortals

A very interesting 1-hour documentary about the rivalry between Ilia Malinin and Yuma Kagiyama was aired on Feb.1 by NHK in Japan - titled "神のジャンプ”に挑む 〜氷上決戦 マリニンと鍵山 (Challenging the “God's Jump” ~ The Battle on Ice: Malinin and Kagiyama)

I hope @TheIliaSociety uploads the whole clip. NHK did an AI analysis showing the differences between Ilia's 4A and other 3As in terms of height, distance and rotational speed. It also shows the process he was practicing to master 4A (very interesting).


It also showed cute interactions among his family and cats.

@TheIliaSociety has been posting bits of clips from the documentary this post and above (they kindly have been adding English subtitles):
 
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CBS Sunday Morning extended interview with Ilia

www.cbsnews.com

Extended Interview: Ilia Malinin

In this web exclusive, figure skating superstar Ilia Malinin talks with correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti in advance of the Winter Olympics. He talks about the artistry of his routines; having his parents (former Olympic skaters Roman Skorniakov and Tatiana Malinina) as coaches; and landing a...
www.cbsnews.com
 
Ilia's CBS Sunday Morning interview also is available in article format with both videos (what was aired + the extended version) embedded here:
www.cbsnews.com

Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection

The four-time national figure skating champion from Virginia, the only person in the world to have landed a quad axel in competition, is the heavy favorite for gold at this year's Winter Olympics.
www.cbsnews.com www.cbsnews.com

Here's Alice Park's TIME article that was published on 1/30/26:
time.com

How Ilia Malinin Became the Gold-Medal Favorite

The figure skater wasn't planning to follow in the footsteps of his Olympian parents. Now he's heading to Milan.
time.com time.com
Excerpt:
To get to this point, Malinin spent time with reigning Olympic men’s champion Nathan Chen’s coach, Rafael Arutyunyan, in California, who provided tips on improving his toe loop and flip jumps, and perhaps most importantly, managing his energy during the program so he has the stamina to perform quadruple jump after quadruple jump, as he’s likely to do in Milan in his free program. Equally valuable to Malinin was observing and talking to Chen himself about what he did to get ready for the Beijing Olympics—“how he trained, how he prepared and how much time and effort he put into not only the jumps but everything you have to do in skating,” says Malinin. “It gave me an understanding of what I needed to do in my skating.”
While those jumps are certainly the big draw in watching Malinin, he also understands the importance of what comes between them. “I learned to find my own style, which I would explain as really a contemporary and effortless-looking style that makes things look easy, but at the same time, I want people to know that what any of us do is really hard,” he says. “It’s a judged sport, and not only is it super athletic and you have to have enough strength and energy to pull off these jumps and tricks, but you also have to make them look nice, clean, and effortless. That’s part of the competition.”
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There's also an excellent article about Ilia, titled "The Man Who Broke Physics," by Sally Jenkins (formerly of the WaPo) in The Atlantic - it's paywalled but thanks to @BittyBug it can be read via a gift article link in Ilia's fan thread (post #777).
Sylvia said:
From Jackie Wong today (Ilia didn't jump in his first practice at the practice rink earlier today): "Malinin: marked runthrus, 2A, 3S, 3T, 3Lo(step), 3Lo, 3F, 3Lz(turn), 3Lz3T, 3Lz1Eu3F, 3T3T, 3S2A, 3A, 3S3A, 2S(step), 4S, 3T, 2T(step), 4Lo, 4Lo, 4F, 2Lz(turn), 4Lz, 4Lz3T, 4Lz1Eu3F, 4A, 4T(hangs on)2T(2ft), 4T(ftdwn)3T, 4S3A, 4T, 4T3T, 3T"

Zakarian's clip of Ilia's 4A in the main rink: https://x.com/TheIliaSociety/status/2018354003776782600
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ETA:
www.instagram.com

Joosep Martinson on Instagram: "Ilia Malinin of 🇺🇸 during a training session on day minus four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 02, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joosep Martinson @gettysport )

550 likes, 4 comments - jmfotoz on February 2, 2026: "Ilia Malinin of 🇺🇸 during a training session on day minus four of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 02, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Joosep Martinson @gettysport ) #olympics...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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Sylvia said:
There's also an excellent article about Ilia, titled "The Man Who Broke Physics," by Sally Jenkins (formerly of the WaPo) in The Atlantic - it's paywalled but thanks to @BittyBug it can be read via a gift article link in Ilia's fan thread (post #777).
Click to expand...
Here’s the link again:
www.theatlantic.com

The Man Who Broke Physics

Even before competing in his first Olympics, 21-year-old Ilia Malinin has transformed the sport of figure skating.
www.theatlantic.com www.theatlantic.com
 
Jason Brown talks about Ilia Malinin.
www.instagram.com

NBC Chicago on Instagram: "At the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics (coming to you live on NBC and Peacock), figure skater Ilia Malinin — known as the "Quad God" — will be going for his career-first Olympic gold medal. His scores are often so far a

514 likes, 8 comments - nbcchicago on February 6, 2026: "At the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics (coming to you live on NBC and Peacock), figure skater Ilia Malinin — known as the "Quad God" — will be going for his career-first Olympic gold medal. His scores are often so far ahead of his...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
I hate to see the way some of the US Media is covering Ilia's performance in the Team Event SP and his interview afterwards. Some of this reporting may have started with Christine Brennan but it has spread to other publications:


Headline: "Ilia Malinin gives 50 percent and finishes second in first Olympic skate
The “Quadg0d” wants to pace himself, but his slow start means the U.S. will have a fight to win the team gold."

Excerpts:

""That wasn’t, of course, the perfect idea, you know, 100 percent skate that I would want to have had, but for the standard I set myself today, I think I achieved that,” he said through a forced grin after his skate.

He was asked what he meant by the standard he had set for himself.

“Well, I presume to come into this team competition with only 50 percent of my full potential, so that’s what I felt like here today,” he replied.

His answer dangled flat in the haze of the arena’s basement. The only time Malinin has been anything less than full effort during his rise to the top came at last month’s U.S. Figure Skating Championships, when it was obvious he was going to make the American Olympic team and scaled back his free skate."

....

"He said, though, he wants to pace himself with the men’s singles events starting Tuesday. Still, his half-effort Saturday appears to have forced U.S. Figure Skating to use him again in Sunday’s men’s free skate."

....

"Now finally at the Olympics, Malinin has seemed distracted. He’s had to shoot television commercials and make appearances and meet sponsors. And while he has often said he wants to bring back skating’s former glory, there’s a difference between making such statements at a half-filled arena in Wichita with only a handful of reporters as opposed to the Olympics with its constant demands."
 
The media loves to tear down sports icons. Ignore them! Ilia I’m sure is trying not to burn out before the individual event. And he may be holding back a bit to achieve that. Most skaters skate their best when really attacking. Water under the bridge. Tomorrow will be exciting. Gracie Gold’s summary was the best!
 
mtnskater said:
The media loves to tear down sports icons. Ignore them! Ilia I’m sure is trying not to burn out before the individual event. And he may be holding back a bit to achieve that. Most skaters skate their best when really attacking. Water under the bridge. Tomorrow will be exciting. Gracie Gold’s summary was the best!
Click to expand...

ITA. He comes in second instead of first and they are eager to pounce. As Gracie said, it's like your steak being too juicy and your lobster being too buttery.

This is his usual SP content. I think he just got a little nervous and tight. He's got more pressure and expectations on him than anyone else. I don't think he was really giving it 50%, though I can see why he would want to tell himself that. He looked much better in the warmup.

ETA: Just realized that I had posted Gracie's entertaining summary of the TE in the TE thread, not here. Here it is:

www.instagram.com

U.S. Figure Skating on Instagram: "Skating bes𝙩𝙚𝙖 @graciegold95 is spilling a piping hot recap of Team Event Day 2 of #WinterOlympics! 🫖🔥"

1,389 likes, 18 comments - usfigureskating on February 7, 2026: "Skating bes𝙩𝙚𝙖 @graciegold95 is spilling a piping hot recap of Team Event Day 2 of #WinterOlympics! 🫖🔥".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
YukiNieve said:
It's really a shame that the Washington Post, the local newspaper where Ilia lives, is describing the situation this way [article by Les Carpenter, link posted above]
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I thought Robert Samuels' analysis, published today, was spot on (this is a gifted link from his X account).
The press corps of more than two dozen seemed more freaked out about what transpired than Malinin himself. “It’s the Olympics,” he insisted, suggesting that reporters chill out. It will be interesting to see just how much chill Malinin shows at the team‑event final on Sunday.
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Samuels also posted an explanation while walking in Milan:
www.instagram.com

Robert Samuels on Instagram: "What happened with Ilia Malinin last night? I tell you why you shouldn’t be too alarmed. #figureskating #olympics #milanocortina2026 #iliamalinin #yumakagiyama"

17 likes, 3 comments - newsbysamuels on February 8, 2026: "What happened with Ilia Malinin last night? I tell you why you shouldn’t be too alarmed. #figureskating #olympics #milanocortina2026 #iliamalinin #yumakagiyama".
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
ETA:
PRlady said:
Robert Samuels is that rarity, a serious journalist who adores figure skating and writes about it when he can.
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ChillSkate said:
This is why it's asinine that USFS did not send Ilia in 2022. Same thing happened to Nathan Chen. They never learn.
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I'm not sure how much it would have helped. There already was huge pressure on Nathan when he went to the Olympics the first time. Ilia would not have been in a similar position; Nathan would have been the favorite. Kagiyama has been to the Olympics before, but his skate today was a mess.
 
Allskate said:
I'm not sure how much it would have helped. There already was huge pressure on Nathan when he went to the Olympics the first time. Ilia would not have been in a similar position; Nathan would have been the favorite. Kagiyama has been to the Olympics before, but his skate today was a mess.
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Nathan was nowhere the favorite that Ilia was in fact people knew if Hanyu skated to his potential that Chen would have a hard time winning. Nathan was not nearly as dominate as Ilia heading into the Olympics in 2018 he was partly the favorite because the other top men were either injured or not skating very well. Ilia was annihilating the other skaters in competition no matter how they skated.
 
Allskate said:
I'm not sure how much it would have helped. There already was huge pressure on Nathan when he went to the Olympics the first time. Ilia would not have been in a similar position; Nathan would have been the favorite. Kagiyama has been to the Olympics before, but his skate today was a mess.
Click to expand...
Every single recent US man who won OGM went to the previous Olympics. Its would have absolutely helped the statistics shows for US men it helps.

You just don’t hold your talent back like that. Its a stupid move.

Just to give the kid of the idea of what the Olympics is
 
Jammers said:
Nathan was nowhere the favorite that Ilia was in fact people knew if Hanyu skated to his potential that Chen would have a hard time winning.
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Yes, I know. But, you would not have known that if you were listening to Tara and Johnny and the American media. My point is that I don't think it's just going to the Olympics that helps. (I'm not saying it can't be useful.) It's experiencing a huge amount of pressure under that glare. Look at how Simone Biles did at her first Olympics versus her second. Or look at Mikaela Shiffrin. It's really different. And really hard.

ETA: Here are some of Ilia's comments after his skate:

"In this sport, you have the privilege of being not only an athlete, but also an artist. But with that comes a lot of pressure — the expectations, the media, everything around it."

www.instagram.com

Golden Skate on Instagram: "Ilia Malinin 🇺🇸 156.33 / 264.49 “Well, putting all the negatives aside, the atmosphere was really incredible. The support — honestly, even with that skate — the crowd never stopped cheering. They were supporting me the wh

479 likes, 20 comments - goldsk8 on February 13, 2026: "Ilia Malinin 🇺🇸 156.33 / 264.49 “Well, putting all the negatives aside, the atmosphere was really incredible. The support — honestly, even with that skate — the crowd never stopped cheering. They were supporting me the whole time, and that...
www.instagram.com www.instagram.com
 
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Allskate said:
Yes, I know. But, you would not have known that if you were listening to Tara and Johnny and the American media. My point is that I don't think it's just going to the Olympics that helps. (I'm not saying it can't be useful.) It's experiencing a huge amount of pressure under that glare. Look at how Simone Biles did at her first Olympics versus her second. Or look at Mikaela Shiffrin. It's really different. And really hard.
Click to expand...

Simone was the top favorite both Olympics I think the difference in the second was she was always way ahead of the field and suddenly she couldn’t make mistakes.

But I think he would have gotten some hype the USFSA could have and at least gotten some experience better than None.
 
becca said:
Simone was the top favorite both Olympics I think the difference in the second was she was always way ahead of the field and suddenly she couldn’t make mistakes.
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Yes. The expectations were much, much higher on her the second time around. That made a major difference. Having been to the Olympics before didn't save her. Would she have had even bigger problems if she hadn't been before? I don't know, but it was pretty awful at her second Olympics, dealing with the twisties and all the expectations (and criticism).
 
Allskate said:
I'm not sure how much it would have helped. There already was huge pressure on Nathan when he went to the Olympics the first time. Ilia would not have been in a similar position; Nathan would have been the favorite. Kagiyama has been to the Olympics before, but his skate today was a mess.
Click to expand...
It would have introduced Ilia to the environment of Olympic competition. There would have Beene something familiar about it the second time around which can give an athlete some confidence.
 
DreamSkates said:
It would have introduced Ilia to the environment of Olympic competition. There would have Beene something familiar about it the second time around which can give an athlete some confidence.
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I'm not saying that there wouldn't have been any benefit, and I wish his parents/coaches had planned more for that. But, I just don't think going to the Olympics with very little senior competitive experience - he didn't even have the required minimums when the Olympic team was named - and without the major expectations and media attention would have been the same.

I'm really sad for him, and I hate to think of the crap he's going to get from haters.
 
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