On a night when history and high drama collided at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, the world watched as Ilia Malinin, the so-called "Quad God" of figure skating, made his long-awaited Olympic debut. Yet, despite his reputation for shattering records and redefining the boundaries of the sport, Malinin found himself in the unfamiliar position of runner-up in the men's team short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, the reigning Olympic silver medalist, delivered a performance for the ages, besting Malinin with a score of 108.67 to 98.00 and throwing the competition wide open as the team event reached its midway point.
For Malinin, the 21-year-old American sensation, expectations were sky-high. After all, he's the only skater in history to land a quadruple axel—a 4 1/2-revolution jump once thought impossible—on competition ice, a feat that earned him comparisons to sporting legends like Simone Biles, Michael Jordan, and Tiger Woods. As commentator Johnny Weir told NBC Olympics, "You think of legends in other sports—Simone Biles, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods—Ilia Malinin is that for figure skating. He's done elements that we never thought we'd see in our lifetime. Every time we watch him skate it's like watching the moon landing."
But Saturday night in Milan wasn't just about Malinin's past accomplishments or his future ambitions. It was about the here and now, and Kagiyama seized the moment. With a pair of near-perfect quadruple jumps—a quad toe-triple toe combination and a quad salchow—followed by a flawless triple axel, Kagiyama set a standard that even Malinin couldn't match, at least not on this night. The Japanese star's jubilation was palpable as he jumped out of his seat, fists clenched in triumph when his score was announced.
Meanwhile, Malinin's program, set to "The Lost Crown," opened with a brilliant quad flip and closed with a quad lutz-triple toe loop combination. Though the latter earned him bonus points for being performed in the second half of his routine, he faltered on the triple axel, landing it shakily and missing the opportunity to attempt his signature quad axel. "It was just awesome," Malinin said afterward, reflecting on his Olympic debut. "Just the environment, the energy, just everything was like, 'Wow.' Out of nowhere. I was not expecting this huge crowd of reaction, too. It was a lot of fun. It felt like a show to me honestly."
Despite the pressure, Malinin remained philosophical about his performance. "I'm proud with everything that I wanted to achieve. And really just to get a good feel for that competition atmosphere almost and really just see how I need to adjust things going into the free skate... or, sorry, the individual event," he told reporters. He also revealed that he had decided long before the event not to attempt the quad axel in the team short program, despite submitting it in his planned elements. "I decided a long time ago [not to do the quad Axel], but I forgot to change it off the planned elements," Malinin admitted.
In a move that electrified the arena and added a new chapter to Olympic lore, Malinin became the first skater ever to land a backflip in Olympic competition—a feat made possible only after the move was legalized for the Milan Games. Previously, backflips were banned in Olympic figure skating, with France's Surya Bonaly famously performing one in the 1998 exhibition gala, but never in official competition. Malinin's daring backflip, while not enough to claim the segment victory, underscored his mission to "change figure skating forever." As commentators noted, the feat was historic, but Kagiyama's technically superior and artistically polished program ultimately won the day.
For Team USA, the stakes remain high. At the halfway point of the team competition, the Americans led with 34 points, just one ahead of Japan's 33, followed by Italy (28), Canada (27), and Georgia (25). Only the top five teams advanced after the short program, with Canada narrowly making the cut thanks to Stephen Gogolev's personal-best score of 92.99. The team event continued later in the evening with the free dance, where world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates took the ice for the U.S., having already secured maximum points in the rhythm dance on Friday.
The American squad, widely regarded as one of the strongest in its history, features not only Malinin but also Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov on the men's side. Naumov's journey to the Olympics carried added poignancy, as he fulfilled the dream of his late parents—both former skaters—who tragically died in a plane crash in early 2025. "We absolutely did it," Naumov said. "Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even knew what to think. I can't put this into words."
Malinin's own path to the Olympic stage is steeped in family legacy and relentless ambition. His Russian-born mother, Tatiana Malinina, competed at the 1998 Olympics for Uzbekistan and won the Grand Prix Final the following year. His father, Roman Skorniakov, also represented Uzbekistan at the Olympics, while his grandfather, Valery Malinin, coached for the Soviet Union. Malinin's meteoric rise saw him claim the junior world title in 2022, guided by his parents, before Hall of Fame coach Rafael Arutyunyan—who previously coached Nathan Chen to Olympic gold—joined his team. "Ilia challenges himself constantly," Arutyunyan explained. "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."
With two world titles under his belt and a two-year unbeaten streak leading into Milan, Malinin's dominance has been nearly absolute. His personal-best scores have flirted with Nathan Chen's world record of 335.30 points, and his technical arsenal includes the potential to attempt seven quadruple jumps in a single program—a benchmark no other skater has reached. Yet, as Saturday's surprise showed, Olympic gold is never a foregone conclusion, and rivals like Kagiyama are more than ready to seize their moment.
Looking ahead, the figure skating world waits with bated breath. Will Malinin attempt the elusive quad axel or even the rumored quintuple jump in the upcoming individual event? Can Team USA hold off a surging Japanese squad in the team competition's second half? One thing is certain: the drama in Milan is just getting started, and both history and heartbreak are on the line.
As the arena lights dimmed and skaters prepared for the next segment, the sense of anticipation was electric. Malinin, ever the innovator, summed up the Olympic spirit best: "Of course, enjoy every single moment because this only so many times in your life, or perhaps even once in your lifetime. So that's what I want to do." And with the competition still wide open, all eyes remain fixed on Milan, where the quest for greatness continues.