American figure skater Ilia Malinin entered the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics as the overwhelming favorite to claim gold in the men’s singles. But after suffering two devastating falls during his free skate routine, the “Quad God” slipped all the way off the podium and down into an eighth-place finish.
Though Malinin is done with Olympic competition, he will take the ice for one more public performance at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. On Saturday, the 21-year-old figure skating star will participate in the Milano Cortina exhibition gala.
Malinin struggled to live up to expectations during solo Olympic competition. But during a practice session on Monday, he looked more like the unstoppable skating force many viewers have become accustomed to over the years.
In a video posted by social media account “Ilia Malinin Daily,” Malinin completed a quad axel followed by a double toe loop.
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Fans took to the comment section to react to this video, which is drawing some serious attention on social media.
“He knows he can do 4As over and over and over and over again, we know that he can, his competition knows he can, his team knows he can, this is him going ‘look guys nothing wrong with me, still quad god’ YES YOU ARE THE QUAD GOD ILIA YOU ALWAYS WILL BE,” one wrote.
“He was at the practice TODAY after his event? I thought he would take a break from skating & just go have fun being a tourist. I guess whatever works for him!” another said.
“The second 4A was a part of a 4S+4A sequence which is literally diabolical like how is he casually landing these quaxels,” another added.
“Amazing! Absolutely perfect! A true champion! Watch out, the quad God returns. 2030 Gold and many victories in between! Ilia is mesmerizing to watch,” another wrote.
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In addition to skating in the exhibition gala on Saturday, Malinin will also compete at the 2026 world championships in Prague next month.
