American figure skater with Russian roots: biography of Ilya Malinin
Ilya Malinin, an American figure skater with Russian roots, became the US champion for the fourth time in a row. The athlete will represent the country at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, where he will compete for medals, including with Russian figure skater Peter Gumennik. About Malinin's sports career and his ties with Russia — in the material of Izvestia.
How Malinin got into figure skating
Ilya Malinin was born on December 2, 2004 in Fairfax (Virginia, USA) in the family of figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skornyakov. His parents are natives of Russia, they played internationally for Russia and Uzbekistan. In addition, Malinin Jr.'s father and mother participated in the Olympic Games: Tatiana - once in 2002 in Salt Lake City (USA), Roman — twice (in 1998 in Nagano (Japan) and in 2002 in Salt Lake City).
Ilya Malinin grew up in an environment closely related to figure skating since childhood: he started skating early and soon began to stand out for his high jumping capabilities and technical equipment. The athlete himself noted that he came to figure skating thanks to his parents, who spent a lot of time at the rink, and admitted that the desire to try himself in this sport was a conscious and personal decision for him.
Ilya Malinin performs with a short program in men's single skating at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Tallinn
At the same time, the parents tried not to put pressure on their son and not turn sports into the only scenario in his life. Malinin's mother noted that she and her husband were categorically against the child riding, because they knew how difficult it was, that a lot needed to be sacrificed, and how much work needed to be done. But at one of his parents' training sessions, Ilya asked to go on the ice, at that time he was six years old.
Ilya Malinin noted that he began to take a serious interest in figure skating only at the age of 13. Among the skaters who inspired him during that period, he named Nathan Chen, Yuzuru Hanyu, Shoma Uno and Kevin Aymose.
What is Malinin's connection to Russia
Ilya Malinin was born into a family of immigrants from Russia. Despite the fact that the figure skater grew up in the United States, he attended a Russian-speaking kindergarten as a child and speaks Russian. In an interview, the athlete noted that he speaks mostly Russian in his family.
Malinin clarified that he speaks and understands Russian fluently, but has difficulty reading and writing, which is why it takes longer than when using English. According to him, he can do without an interpreter, but does not consider his command of the language to be completely free.
Ilya Malinin during the demonstration gala concert at the final of the 2024 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in France
The figure skater has never been to Russia, but previously stated that he identifies himself as about 30% Russian.
What are Malinin's career successes?
The first major success in Ilya Malinin's career came in 2016, when the 11-year-old figure skater won the U.S. Championship. However, two years later, he failed to qualify for this tournament and seriously considered ending his sports career.
Later, the athlete admitted that he was acutely worried about failure and was disappointed with himself, just like his parents. According to Malinin, at that moment he was close to deciding to retire from figure skating, but over time he realized the need to reconsider his approach to training and focus on work next season.
Malinin's junior career stage passed rapidly: by the early 2020s, he was already consistently performing quadruple jumps. The key moment for both the athlete and the entire figure skating was the fall of 2022, when Malinin was the first in history to successfully complete the quadruple axel in competition. In the rating system of the International Skating Union, this element is considered the most difficult and highly valued jump in terms of base cost.
Ilya Malinin performs during the short program at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan
In 2023, the athlete became the first figure skater to perform all four jumps at the competition. Ilya Malinin also won the final of the Grand Prix in Figure Skating of the 2025/26 season, held in the Japanese city of Nagoya. Then he performed seven quadruple jumps.
"It's somewhere on the verge of being demotivating. Some hire colleagues may reduce motivation, but we must try to take something positive. But we are all human beings. If he could do it, it means that theoretically it is possible. This suggests that the limit is still very far away. When you see him, you realize that there is still a large field of work," Russian figure skater Pyotr Gumennik told Sport-Express.
Malinin is also working on an attempt to perform a five-turn jump. According to him, the skater planned to include this element in the program at the Lombardy Cup tournament in 2025, but eventually abandoned it because he did not practice the jump on a regular basis and decided not to take risks. At the same time, even without this element, the athlete showed the best result in the short program, scoring 108.87 points.
In March 2025, the International Skating Union (ISU) recognized Malinin as the best figure skater of the year. He became world champion twice, in 2024 and 2025, and won the bronze medal in 2023. In addition, the athlete has won the Grand Prix finals three times (2023, 2024 and 2025).
Ilya Malinin at the award ceremony of the U.S. Figure Skating Championships
Malinin also became the U.S. figure skating champion four times in a row. He won his last title in 2026, scoring 115.10 points in the short program, a result that exceeded the world record.
Three-time Olympic champion in figure skating Irina Rodnina, commenting on the results of the US national championship, noted that athletes with Russian roots took the entire podium in men's single skating. According to her, this indicates the high strength of the national figure skating school, which continues to influence the development of this sport, despite the fact that many athletes and specialists work outside of Russia.
Ilya Malinin at the Olympic Games in 2026
Following the results of the U.S. Championships, the U.S. Figure Skating Association has formed a national team to participate in the 2026 Olympic Games in Italy. Ilya Malinin was included in the team.
"It's an incredible feeling. I've been working so hard, especially since that U.S. Championship in 2022. It means a lot to me to be able to go there and follow in the footsteps of my parents who participated in the Olympic Games. It is a great honor, and I am so looking forward to this experience," Malinin quotes the "Sport-Express".
Ilya Malinin at the USA Figure Skating Championships in the free skate
Honored Coach of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova, commenting on Ilya Malinin's performances, noted that the figure skater "did everything possible, everything one could dream of."
On behalf of Russia, Adelia Petrosyan and Peter Gumennik will compete in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.
Earlier, in 2022, Malinin admitted that he sympathized with Russian figure skaters. In particular, he singled out Mikhail Kolyada, noting his performance of Lutz and emphasizing the similarity of this jump with his own technique.
According to Tatiana Tarasova, it is extremely difficult to compete with the current level of Malinin. At the same time, she noted in an interview with Sport-Express that Russian figure skaters could beat the rest of the participants in the US championship.
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