Above: Ilia Malinin performing for United States during the men’s short program at Skate Canada 2024 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Photo by SpiritedMichelle on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The two-time figure skating world champion from the United States, Ilia Malinin, helped Team USA win its second consecutive gold medal in Figure Skating in the Olympic Winter Games. Team USA was phenomenal at the 2022 Winter Olympics and has remained consistent since.
Ilia Malinin is standing tall at rank 1 in ISU World Standings Men (Overall) with 2700 points, making him the best figure skater in the world. On 8th February, Ilia's astonishing free skate performance helped Team USA repeat its win, the first since the event began in 2014.
Fans are still waiting for him to perform his signature jump, the "quadruple axel," for which he was given the title "Quad God". However, his performance on Sunday evening was exciting enough to entertain and help Team USA get what they deserved: "Another Olympic gold medal."
Malinin excitedly spoke with reporters regarding the event and said, "It was like the environment, the atmosphere, the energy, the crowd, all of it was there, and it really felt like Olympic ice, and it really just set me up to skate as much as I could."
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Milano Cortina 2026: Ilia Malinin Key Performance
The "Quad God" from Virginia delivered a standout performance at the Milano Ice Skating Arena. Malinin was behind Japan's Yuma Kagiyama, who earned 108.67. However, he managed to surpass him and score 200.03 points despite a small error on the transition, and landed five tough quadruple jumps, including the quad lutz and quad flip. And that's how Team USA won the much-deserved gold.
The competition was tight between the USA and Japan, as both were tied at 59 points before the final men's free skate. The gold medal event relied on the Japanese player Shun Sato and the reigning world champion Ilia Malinin. Shun Sato is relatively new but ranked 5th in the ISU world rankings with around 2800 points, making him a tough contender. However, despite scoring his personal best of 194.86 points, he could not beat Malinin. Team USA finished 69-68 over Japan.
Malinin's comeback inspires young figure skaters and tells a story of resilience and the management of Olympic pressure. It would be disappointing if he had lost the match after a 14-event winning streak that created huge expectations. Team USA may have won the match, but the fans would love to see Malinin pull off a quadruple axel. It would be exciting to watch him perform again on 10th February in the individual men's event.
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Milano Cortina 2026: How Team USA managed to outplay Japan and Italy?
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There is no better feeling than defending your title, and the USA (69) did so smoothly by beating Japan (68) and Italy (62). The event spanned three days, mixing segments from all disciplines at the Milan arena. The highlights were Alysa Liu's strong 2nd in women's short (74.90, 9 points) and Madison Chock/Evan Bates strong performances in Rhythm dance and Free Dance, which played a critical role in securing the gold for Team USA.
On the other hand, Japan heavily relied on Kagiyama, Sato, Kaori Sakamoto, and pairs Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara. Interestingly, Japan looked like the favorite at one point. Still, excellent performances by Malinin, Alysa, and the legendary ice-dancing pair changed the game's fate, and Team Japan had to settle for silver. Moreover, Italy's Lara Naki Gutmann, Sara Conti/Niccolò Macii, and Charlène Guignard/Marco Fabbri helped their team clinch the bronze, which is their first team medal.
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What is the background of Figure Skating team events, and why does it matter?
Figure skating team event was held for the first time at the 2014 Sochi Olympics in Russia. Here, the judges were awarding 10, 9, and 8 points per segment based on the nations' placements. Nations earned points across four disciplines (men, women, pairs, and ice dance)—the nations that earned the most points advanced to the free skate. The idea was to turn this historically solitary sport into a collective endeavor with a unique team spirit.
The gold medal in the figure skating team event has set high expectations for American spectators. Whether it was Ilia Malinin performance or Alysa's skill, this sport shows how strong cohesion among athletes can lead to greater success. Milano Cortina reminds us that the Olympics are a story of perseverance, unity, and success.
