Ilia Malinin Is Leaping Into Figure Skating Stardom

[mahatmakanejeeves]

The reigning world champion and current top-ranked men’s skater, Malinin will likely be a gold-medal favorite at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Photograph by International Skating Union/Getty Images.

Ilia Malinin Is Leaping Into Figure Skating Stardom

The 20-year-old Northern Virginia native is winning national and world titles with his daring quad jumps. How much farther can he push his sport's limits?

WRITTEN BY ALEX PREWITT | PUBLISHED ON MARCH 20, 2025

The virtual battles waged in the online video games Fortnite and Valorant hardly constitute holy wars. But every so often, the sight of a certain screen name—“Quadg0d,” with the number replacing the vowel—can inspire fellow players to acknowledge a self-proclaimed deity in their midst.
“I’ve been really impressed,” says Ilia Malinin, none other than the Quadg0d himself. “Especially on the East Coast servers, a lot of random people will be like, ‘Omigosh, you’re that figure skater.’ ”

If anybody deserves such a title, it’s Malinin. A lifelong Northern Virginia resident and current George Mason University student, the 20-year-old is taking his sport to new heights—literally. In late January, Malinin ran away with his third straight gold in men’s singles at the United States Figure Skating Championships, a feat matched by only two other skaters since the turn of the century. He’s the favorite to capture a second consecutive world title in Boston in early March and should enter next year’s Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in the same position.

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[Irish_Dem]

1. He is just a jumper.

Granted a good jumper.

But I am not impressed with his skating.