Ilia Malinin Fan Thread!

[Karen-W]

Ilia has another sponsorship: Samsung Galaxy!

Ilia Malinin on Instagram: "It’s always been about pushing the limits of what’s possible. Honored to join Team Samsung Galaxy as I head toward my first Olympics 😝 #Openalwayswins #Samsung #TeamSamsungGalaxy #TeamGalaxy #iliamalinin @samsungmobile"

Get inspired by Elia Melanin's Olympic journey and learn how she uses the Galaxy Z Flip 7 to record her training videos and showcases her passion for figure skating and Team Samsung Galaxy. Discover the three words that describe her Olympic experience and what openness means to her.

www.instagram.com

I have a Galaxy (S24+).

I have an ancient Galaxy Note 10 which could use an upgrade since the battery goes fairly quickly nowadays but I'm too cheap for that. Either way, I love my Samsung products!

 

[Ross H]

I don't have a subscription to read it, but The Athletic/NY Times released a profile of Ilia today that I've seen mentioned on social media several different times today.

Link

 

[Debbie S]

I don't have a subscription to read it, but The Athletic/NY Times released a profile of Ilia today that I've seen mentioned on social media several different times today.

Link

I was able to read it without a subscription. Maybe you get 1 free click-through.

 

[Fiero425]

The last men's group is on the ice for their Short Prog. in St. Louis, MO for the 2026 US Nationals! Malinin going for his 4th in a row!

 

[Ross H]

Here's a Sports Illustrated digital cover story on Ilia with photos:

Ilia Malinin, Team USA’s Quad God, Is Redefining the Limits of Figure Skating

A two-time world champion who has gone undefeated for two-plus years, the history-making 21-year-old is paving his way towards Olympic gold.

www.si.com

 

[BittyBug]

I don't have a subscription to read it, but The Athletic/NY Times released a profile of Ilia today that I've seen mentioned on social media several different times today.

Link

See if this works:

For Ilia Malinin, figure skating’s ‘Quad God,’ all that’s left is Olympic superstardom

The 21-year-old American has shattered records and reset what's possible in the sport. Now he's ready to become a household name.

www.nytimes.com

 

[princeton123]

did Ilia finally dump Ari and get a real team? he’s on the cover of the Sports Illustrated digital cover and has a nice feature and photoshoot in this month’s Vanity Fair too

 

[Karen-W]

did Ilia finally dump Ari and get a real team? he’s on the cover of the Sports Illustrated digital cover and has a nice feature and photoshoot in this month’s Vanity Fair too

He's had a PR team for awhile, but Ari is still involved.

 

[YukiNieve]

Ilia did a photo-shoot in November for Vanity Fair and an article was just published.

https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/ilia-malinin-figure-skating-olympics

 

[Sylvia]

If anyone lives in the Pittsburgh area, Ilia is scheduled to make an appearance there on Saturday:

RMU ISC Figure Skating Academy on Instagram: "An Exciting Opportunity for our RMU ISC FSA & PFSC Skaters & All Skating Fans! ✨Meet Team USA Stars — Ilia Malinin & Declan Farmer!✨ Join Dick's House of Sports @dickshouseofsport for a special in-store

91 likes, 0 comments - rmuiscfsacademy on January 13, 2026: "An Exciting Opportunity for our RMU ISC FSA & PFSC Skaters & All Skating Fans! ✨Meet Team USA Stars — Ilia Malinin & Declan Farmer!✨ Join Dick's House of Sports @dickshouseofsport for a special in-store Meet & Greet with two elite...

www.instagram.com

Saturday, January 17
Dick’s House of Sport – Ross Park Mall
3:30–4:30 PM Meet & Greet + Autographs
4:30–5:00 PM Live On-Ice Demo

Wristbands for autographs will be available starting at 9:00 AM — first come, first served (while supplies last).

 

[Sylvia]

Ilia's "Billie Jean" in hockey skates in Pittsburgh on 1/17/26, shared by a Korean fan of his on Instagram (originally posted on TikTok by joel.mccarty https://www.tiktok.com/@joel.mccarty/video/7596469784628219149): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTp5gVEkSho/
ETA link to a local news report (includes a 50-second clip): https://www.wpxi.com/news/local/tea...mpics-paralympics/6OBGWIFI25H7NEBI3TL4GQZLYQ/
Paywalled article:

‘Air awareness’: Figure skating star wows crowd at Ross Park Mall

For those few seconds after Ilia Malinin jumps and spins in the air while skating, all he sees is a blur as he enters a place he describes as another realm. Mr....

www.post-gazette.com

ETA:

RMU ISC Figure Skating Academy on Instagram: "Our skaters had a blast meeting Ilia Malinin @ilia_quadg0d_malinin and Declan Farmer @declan_farmer this weekend at the Dick’s House of Sport Pittsburgh! Seeing these Team USA athletes in action was incre

75 likes, 1 comments - rmuiscfsacademy on January 20, 2026: "Our skaters had a blast meeting Ilia Malinin @ilia_quadg0d_malinin and Declan Farmer @declan_farmer this weekend at the Dick’s House of Sport Pittsburgh! Seeing these Team USA athletes in action was incredible! Wishing them all the...

www.instagram.com

Posted today:

Ilia Malinin on Instagram: "In the age of the internet expansion, the role social media plays on mental health includes correlations of heightened anxiety, depression, loneliness, thoughts of self-harm, poor sleep quality, increased levels of psychol

11K likes, 275 comments - ilia_quadg0d_malinin on January 20, 2026: "In the age of the internet expansion, the role social media plays on mental health includes correlations of heightened anxiety, depression, loneliness, thoughts of self-harm, poor sleep quality, increased levels of...

www.instagram.com

In the age of the internet expansion, the role social media plays on mental health includes correlations of heightened anxiety, depression, loneliness, thoughts of self-harm, poor sleep quality, increased levels of psychological distress, and lower life satisfaction. The virtual world can be noisy, isolating, and cruel.

Figure skating brings the extraordinary ability to connect deeply with an audience, both live and online. But a dark side emerges from the digital animosity masked as harmless opinion. As a byproduct of social media hostility, self-doubt fills the human mind. Self-hatred fills the human mind. All elite athletes and artists under a spotlight experience this in some capacity, yet may be fearful to speak out. But this part of reality needs to be uncovered too. Spread the word and repost

Coming February 2026.

Amber in the Comments: "Proud of you"

ETA that Vulture has an article (paywalled) today titled “Ilia Malinin Is a Proud Cat Dad” :

https://www.vulture.com/article/ilia-malinin-maria-bamford-questionnaire.html

Vulture on Instagram: "In @ilia_quadg0d_malinin's Maria Bamford Questionnaire, the 21-year-old two-time figure-skating world champion muses on chocolate milk, overthinking, his two cats Mysti and Miu Miu, and How to Train Your Dragon. Read his 25 a

6,024 likes, 17 comments - vulture on January 20, 2026: "In @ilia_quadg0d_malinin's Maria Bamford Questionnaire, the 21-year-old two-time figure-skating world champion muses on chocolate milk, overthinking, his two cats Mysti and Miu Miu, and How to Train Your Dragon. Read his 25 answers at...

www.instagram.com

 

[Sylvia]

Excited fans watching Ilia skating outdoors to "Billie Jean" in Pittsburgh last Saturday ("I am obsessed!"): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DToXbgSCdcZ/

Ilia answers a fan's question about "How to Train Your Dragon" music: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DTwB6eEia66/

Associated Press article Ilia Malinin: The 20-year-old American figure skater redefining the sport by Dave Skretta (Jan. 21):

Ilia Malinin: The 20-year-old American figure skater redefining the sport

Ilia Malinin, a 20-year-old figure skating sensation, is being hailed as the best of his generation.

apnews.com

“Ilia challenges himself constantly,” explains Arutyunyan, who coached Chen to gold at the Beijing Games. “Our biggest challenge is keeping the team of people who work with him on the same page. We’re all there for him when he needs his team most.”
Malinin has never needed it as much as now.
As the Milan Cortina Games draw nearer, the pressure is mounting, on the ice and off. Malinin has a number of corporate sponsors, and that comes with a certain amount of weight. His face is omnipresent in NBC spots leading up to its broadcast of the Olympics. And he is accosted by fans for photos and autographs just about everywhere he goes.

“With my team, we’ve been planning a strategic plan to prepare myself mentally and physically, so when I get to the Olympics, that’s when I’m at my peak,” Malinin told The Associated Press in a wide-ranging interview. “We’ve talked for months, and managing what I train and how I train specifically, and what I’m going to do at all the competitions leading up to the Olympics.” [...]
“He has such a passionate fire for skating,” says his choreographer, Shae-Lynn Bourne. “He’s one of those that have skates on an hour before we work and an hour after we work. He just puts the time in, and he’s constantly — not just loves to skate, but he’s not someone who will ever coast, or just go on what he knows he can do. He constantly wants to be challenged.”

People article (Jan. 18) at the "(Exclusive)" that often is used in their headlines - maybe the exclusive is the part bolded by me below? https://people.com/ilia-malinin-doe...s-making-quad-axel-history-exclusive-11886675

Leading up to the Winter Games, Malinin — who juggles online classes at George Mason University with his six-hour, six-days-a-week training schedule — says he’ll be hyper focused on fine-tuning his programs and staying healthy.
There’s little time for anything else, though he relaxes with skateboarding and art.
“I know how nerve-racking the Olympics can be, but I’m really excited,” says Malinin, who confesses that he’d rather skate than date. “I want to put my priorities into my career first and just see where that takes me.”

Nitpick re.: "Even Malinin’s sister Elli, 11, is a nationally ranked junior skater." She's a "junior" as in lower level skater at the Juvenile level, which currently is the lowest USFS qualifying level.

ETA that Olympics.com shares excerpts from the paywalled “Ilia Malinin Is a Proud Cat Dad” article here: https://www.olympics.com/en/news/ilia-quad-god-malinin-cats-milk-space-neil-degrasse-tyson

The mischievous new additions to Malinin’s world have also become a source of envy for the prodigious skater.
When asked what he was jealous of in a family member, the Team USA star considered his two-time Olympian parents before landing on his sister.
“I’m jealous that my sister gets more attention from the cats than I do.”

 

[Sylvia]

Newsweek cover story (paywalled): https://www.instagram.com/p/DTyCsdwD2O7/

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Sylvia]

Ilia did a photo-shoot in November for Vanity Fair and an article was just published.
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/story/ilia-malinin-figure-skating-olympics

https://twitter.com/x/status/2014529748312195172

CUTTING EDGE Ilia Malinin, photographed on November 14 in Washington, DC.

VF credits section:
Ilia Malinin's Gucci clothing from selected Gucci stores, or go to gucci.com.
Page 23: Vanities: “Skater Boy”
For Ilia Malinin's Dior coat by special order, call 800-929-DIOR; fashion editor, Jake Sammis.
His hair styled with Hair Rituel by Sisley; on his face, Milk Makeup; grooming by Anita Bahramy.
Page 24: Vanities: “Skater Boy”
For Ilia Malinin's Jil Sander clothing, go to jilsander.com; fashion editor, Jake Sammis.
His hair styled with Hair Rituel by Sisley; on his face, Milk Makeup; grooming by Anita Bahramy.

 

[Sylvia]

Here’s Ilia’s Team USA profile for the Olympics: https://www.teamusa.com/profiles/ilia-malinin

First look [screenshot] of Ilia Malinin and his cat, Miu Miu for NHK's “Challenging the ‘God's Jump’”, airing [in Japan] on 1st February 2026. https://x.com/theiliasociety/status/2015310217073025140
Yuma will also be featured in this NHK Special "Taking on the 'God's Jump' - The Ice Showdown between Malinin and Kagiyama": https://thetv.jp/program/0001069937/1/