Why Ilia Malinin, the ‘Quad God’ is the Michael Jordan of figure skating

When you go by the nickname “Quad God,” that title might need an explanation.

But for Team USA men’s figure skater Ilia Malinin, the explanation comes in the air.

Malinin has already secured a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as he was part of the Team USA squad that captured gold in the team event. Malinin anchored the team with a strong men’s free skate, landing five quadruple jumps along the way as Team USA edged Japan by a single point.

On Tuesday, he begins his quest for individual gold, starting with the men’s short program.

His nickname, however, stems from the fact that in 2022 Malinin became the first skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, doing so at the 2022 CS United States International Classic. The Axel is the toughest jump in all of figure skating, requiring a forward-outside edge takeoff and landing backward on the opposite foot. The number of rotations is somewhat of a misnomer, however. Since the skater takes off going forward, and lands backward on the opposite foot, the jump includes an extra half-rotation.

Therefore, Malinin’s quadruple Axel is actually 4.5 rotations.

Oh, and he was just 17 years old at the time.

“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen anyone do on the ice,” said 2018 Olympian Adam Rippon at the time.

If that was not enough, Malinin became the first skater in history to land not one, two, or three quadruple jumps in a single free skate program last year. During the 2025 Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Malinin landed a stunning seven quadruple jumps in a single free skate.

Here is more of the “Quad God” in action:

As for that famous nickname, Malinin conceded ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics that he brought that upon himself.

“I named myself that because I landed one quad jump, and then I just changed my username [on social media] to Quad God,” Malinin says. “I didn’t think about it much, and everyone was telling me: ‘Why did you change your name? You only landed one quad jump.’ And from that moment, I kind of thought, ‘What if I do become the Quad God?’ From there, that’s when that whole thing started of me trying to land every single quad jump.”

Given the difficulty associated with all of his stunning jumps, Malinin gives himself an advantage in competitions. Those higher-difficulty jumps allow him to build tremendous point totals during events.

That has even some of his rivals in awe, including Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, who actually outscored Malinin during the short program in the team event during the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“He does all those difficult jumps, and he makes them look effortless,” said Kagiyama after the worlds in March 2025. “Maybe he is putting effort, but to us, it looks effortless and really easy. And it’s not just his jumps. I feel like his skating and his artistry, his expression, is getting better year by year, so I’m starting to think he’s invincible.”

Here is Malinin during that short program:

And yes, your eyes did not deceive you. He nailed a backflip in that routine.

Beyond gold, Malinin is skating for the sport itself.

“What’s most important for me is to show the world — if they’re skating fans or non-skating fans — how much I find a passion for my sport and how much I love skating and performing,” said Malinin ahead of the games. “A lot of the time, our sport is little under-looked-on, but it’s slowly starting to grow again. I think I’m part of the reason, but a lot of other skaters are also part of the reason. In general, what I want to do is bring back those high glory days of figure skating.”

Malinin’s aerial prowess harkens back to another athlete, who took to the skies in his sport of choice and dares us to believe we can fly.

And had us all wanting to “Be like Mike.”

While we might not be able to dunk, or land a quadruple Axel, we can all dream. And that process will certainly help Malinin bring attention to the sport he loves.

That continues Tuesday with the men’s short program.