Ilia Malinin Fan Thread!

Ilia has another sponsorship: Samsung Galaxy!


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

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).
 
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:
ETA:

Posted today:

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” :D:
 
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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 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) :lol: 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.”
:D
 
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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
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.
 
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Ilia will be on CBS Sunday Morning on Feb. 1 (9:00-10:30 am ET): https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUJHZr0kZkB/

SPORTS: Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection
Four-time national figure skating champion Ilia Malinin, 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. The 21-year-old from Virginia talks with correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti about his record-breaking skills which have made him a superstar in the sport.

ETA - link to Jan. 28 press release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-rel...nter-games-milano-cortina-2026-302672557.html
To further support youth sports and expand access to play, each DICK'S Team USA Ambassador will select a youth sports organization to receive a $10,000 Sports Matter grant, provided by The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation. Each nominated organization must meet The Foundation's eligibility criteria to ensure funds benefit programs that create meaningful opportunities for young athletes to participate in sports. In addition, if an ambassador earns a medal during the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, they will receive an additional $10,000 grant to award to the same organization, doubling the impact.
Prior to Milano Cortina 2026, DICK'S hosted send-off celebrations in select DICK'S stores, with Korey Dropkin, Caroline Harvey, Ilia Malinin and Declan Farmer. Following the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, DICK'S will host homecoming celebrations for DICK'S Team USA Ambassadors who earn a medal during Milano Cortina 2026.
 
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Ilia's Coke Ad showed up on my Instagram feed. Sorry if someone already posted this:

 
Ilia is in 2 Xfinity ads - I've seen the first one on TV a few times already:

Today he got his Welcome Experience & Team USA gear in Milan: Getty Images (38 photos featuring Ilia on Feb. 1st)
 
Ilia will be on CBS Sunday Morning on Feb. 1 (9:00-10:30 am ET):
Here's the extended 13-minute segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yNBUWhFHnU

From the U.S. Men's news thread earlier today:
Extended version (web exclusive) of Ilia's CBS Sunday Morning interview, conducted by Jonathan Vigliotti:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yNBUWhFHnU (13:11, Feb 1)
What aired on CBS Sunday Morning telecast:
Ilia Malinin on the pursuit of perfection
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfPUngVwhts (7:11)
CBS Sunday Morning feature on Ilia
ETA:

Ilia & Amber out & about in Milan today, Feb. 1st (photos by Damon Allen):
 
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The Atlantic has published an article about Ilia, titled "The Man Who Broke Physics".

I liked his response when asked about pressure, and reframing it in a more confidence-building way as status.

On the afternoon we spoke, I asked how he felt about the pressure. Malinin straightened and leaned forward on the sofa. “Okay, there’s different ways to word it,” he said. “Pressure is—it’s not a good way. It feels like a negative, and I’m not really good with dealing with pressure. I think it’s more like status. That’s what I call it, which makes me, like, feel more confident.”

I found this bit interesting. It looks like Alysa also participated in that study (linked below.)
When Malinin was 12, his father drove him to the University of Delaware to participate in a project measuring the jumping ability of young skaters, led by Jim Richards, a kinesiology professor. Though his parents had refused to push him, he had shown what he could do with even a little effort: The previous year he had won the 2016 U.S. juvenile boys’ title by landing two double axels, despite practicing just two hours a day. Malinin was fitted with 10 reflective markers from his head to his skates and filmed by 10 cameras that captured his rotations and time in the air in a series of jumps. The data were then fed into a 3-D computer program that created two models, one of Malinin’s jumps and another of conceptual improvements to the jumps.

Some of the young skaters weren’t going to be elite under any circumstances. But Malinin clearly had that potential. “What we found from the measurements is that through pretty simple changes with his arm position, he could land a triple axel without a problem,” Richards told me. He shared something more with Malinin and his father: With a few further adjustments, he would be able to achieve the spin rates he needed for quads.

And confirmation that he’s landed a quint:
Malinin started quietly working toward the quint about two years ago. Lounging on the practice rink’s sofa, he casually acknowledged that he had already successfully landed one. “In front of people?” I asked.

“My parents,” he said.
 
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Cross-posting here:

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).

https://x.com/TheIliaSociety/status/2018084075484090738

It also showed cute interactions among his family and cats.

@TheIliaSociety has been posting bits of clips from the documentary here and above:

https://x.com/TheIliaSociety/status/2018082344486515025
 
I found this bit interesting. It looks like Alysa also participated in that study (linked below.)
Thank you for the excerpts from Sally Jenkins' article (https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/03/ilia-malinin-olympic-figure-skating/685766/) in The Atlantic! Here's the Dec. 2017 article with 2-min. video (showing a young Ilia, Alysa & Will Annis) that @cheremary linked in the 2nd quoted section above, ICYMI:
He saw similar strengths in 12-year-old Ilia Malinin, who has two national championships to his credit (winning the juvenile level in 2016 and the intermediate in 2017) and was tested the same day. [UDel's Jim] Richards showed Ilia and his father/coach, Roman Skornyakov, how a few adjustments would have Ilia achieving the spin rates he needs for triple Axels and quads.
"I liked this," Ilia said. "And I think I should improve. I like the challenge a lot and this helps me get ready for other jumps."
Ilia was greeted at the Milan airport by the Japanese press ;) (Kyodo News, Feb. 1st) - his voice is dubbed over here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJuGsL2t7G0
 
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Ilia's CBS Sunday Morning interview also is available in article format with both videos (what was aired + the extended version) embedded here:

I just came across Alice Park's TIME article that was published on 1/30/26:
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.”
 
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

ETA:
 
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Practice notes [from Jackie Wong today]
Malinin: marked runthru, 2A(step), 2A, 3F, 3Lz, 3A, 3Lz3T, 3Lz3T, 3F, 3F, 3A, 3A, 3T, 3T, 3T, 3T, 3Lo, 3Lo(step), 3Lo, 2Lo, 3Lo

With Snoop Dogg (working as a special correspondent again for NBC’s Olympics coverage):

ETA - clip of Ilia doing a backflip while Snoop Dogg watches: https://x.com/ISU_Figure/status/2018685216139710745
 
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