Figure skating star Ilia Malinin returns to competitive ice displaying an evolved approach to his routines and a perspective shaped by his career experiences.
The reigning champion, widely known by his “Quad God” moniker for landing quadruple Axels that no other skater could match, spent the past two months ramping up training for Skate America. During that preparation, Malinin told tucson.com that this has been the most fun he has experienced on the ice in four years.
That shift follows a turbulent stretch that included a fall in the men’s free skate event during the Winter Olympics at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 13 in Milan, as reported by tucson.com. Months later, on May 5, he performed a backflip during his routine at the Stars on Ice show at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, according to tucson.com.
Reflecting on his technical progression, Malinin told tucson.com, “I know that 100% that I would not be able to pull any of these programs off if it were done a few years ago.” He described his goals for the 2026-27 season as trying to execute the hardest programs in the world, seeking out difficult transitions to test his limits both technically and artistically.
While external expectations remain fixed on him winning every event, Malinin's internal perspective has changed. He told tucson.com that his recent life and career experiences have rewired his brain and his perspective.
Asked whether this marks a new version of his familiar persona, Malinin told tucson.com, “I would say that it’s definitely a mix of both.
The best way to describe it is definitely an evolution of someone that I could possibly be, but also, just from everything that I experienced from my career, from my life has really just changed everything, kind of almost rewired my brain and rewired my perspective on life. Everything just feels like not necessarily new, but it feels like a little more foreign.”
