Ilia Malinin, widely known as the “Quad God,” delivered another headline-making performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics men figure skating competition in Milan Cortina.
Malinin helped Team USA capture gold in the team event after landing a historic backflip, a move that had been banned since 1976 due to safety concerns.
The last American to legally complete the skill at the Olympics was Terry Kubicka. The International Skating Union lifted the ban on somersault type jumps in June 2024.
“Somersault type jumps are very spectacular and nowadays it is not logical anymore to include them as illegal movements,” an agenda from an ISU meeting at the time said.
Malinin now turns his focus to Friday’s men’s free skate, where he enters as the gold medal favourite.
He could attempt the first quadruple axel ever landed at the Olympic Games, considered the most difficult jump in figure skating.
“I’m hoping that I’ll feel good enough to do it (on Friday),” he told reporters according to Fox News.
“But, of course, I always prioritize health and safety, so I really want to put myself in the right mindset where I’ll feel really confident to go into it and not have that as something that I’m going to risk.”
While the backflip does not carry a set point value, Malinin has previously spoken about enjoying the move: “It gets that audience applause, feels really suspenseful and I really just like doing it,” he said.
