Ilia Malinin and Team USA figure skating are poised for Olympic dominance
At 17, Ilia Malinin pulled off the unthinkable on ice, becoming the first skater in the world to complete the sport’s hardest jump in competition.
He launched forward, snapped his body through four-and-a-half revolutions midair and landed on one blade, completing the quadruple axel.
That 2022 performance at the U.S. International Figure Skating Classic in Lake Placid and his subsequent regular inclusion of the move have cemented his nickname “Quad God.” But this spectacular feat is just the beginning of his legacy, as he continues to change the sport and its future ahead of his Olympic debut in February.
In sweats stamped with his black-and-gold Quad God insignia, the young athlete spoke with Newsweek ahead of a show at the University of Pennsylvania’s ice rink in December. He had just returned from Japan, where he delivered a record-breaking performance at the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, landing not only the highest-ever number of quads in a single free skate (seven), but also the highest score the sport has seen, 238.24. His skate broke his previous record of 228.97. That’s often the case with Malinin—he sets the standard and then surpasses it himself.
Back on home soil, his playful confidence plus his excitement about his skate and the upcoming Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are palpable. “I definitely think I’m really defining the sport and changing the sport, but I feel like I’m also starting to pave a path for the younger generation,” the 21-year-old says in the warm-up room.
Malinin’s effortless-looking quadruple axel, abbreviated as 4A on the leather jacket he wears around the rink, will not only help propel him toward the top of the podium in Italy but is part of a broader boom for U.S. figure skating.
The sport’s Olympic team, which was officially determined in mid-January, includes 16 athletes-—three men, three women, two pairs teams and three ice dance teams. In addition to Malinin’s expected gold, Team USA is favored to medal in the women’s competition with Alysa Liu and Amber Glenn and in ice dance, with Evan Bates and Madison Chock set to come out on top.
Team USA legend Brian Boitano, who took home gold at the 1988 Calgary Games, argues this year’s squad is “probably the strongest team going into the Olympics in history.”
‘Man-on-the-Moon-Type Skating’
To nonskaters, the quad axel is a mesmerizingly quick blur of midair talent. But the mechanics are what makes it a borderline unbelievable jump. An axel is the only jump in the sport where the skater takes off forward, and the quad version demands an explosive lift and fast rotation, before landing on a single edge—all in the span of milliseconds.
The wonder and disbelief around Malinin isn’t just from the technical difficulty of what he attempts, but also from how he stacks them in a program, and his continued effort to push forward. He tells Newsweek he is flirting with the quintuple axel next, saying, “I know 100 percent that after the Olympics, that’s gonna be one of my main goals.”
For 1998 gold medalist Tara Lipinski, practicing and executing quintuplets, which Malinin is rumored to have already done in training, “really is man-on-the-moon-type skating.” The Olympian says Malinin has “revolutionized men’s skating and is doing things I never thought possible.”
Coached by his parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, both former Olympic figure skaters for Uzbekistan, Malinin doesn’t skate like someone chasing perfection, but rather someone trying to stretch the sport. The Virginia native pairs technical finesse with stylistic performance decisions, incorporating moves that don’t even earn points, such as the once-banned backflip or the “raspberry twist.” The spin, named after the translation of the Russian root of his family name, is a nontraditional acrobatic move that incorporates rotations and a leg kick.
The skater and performer is further fusing his personality and style into his programs by including his voice in this season’s free skate music.
“The only true wisdom is knowing you know nothing,” Malinin’s voice echoed, referencing the Socrates-attributed quote, as he opened his Grand Prix Final performance. His voice continued to play out as he settled into his program, “The lost is in the unknown. Embrace the storm.”
When asked about bringing his voice to the ice, Malinin says his program was meant to “describe kind of the process of change,” adding, “I want to show that no matter what you are, what you think, who you are, you really just have to find this process of change and what you want to do in order to become a better version of yourself.”
“There’s always something that you can work on to really get yourself to the next level,” he continues.
Other legends of the sport recognize that drive in him too. “He’s a rocket,” Boitano says while watching Malinin break in his new Olympic “Quad God” black skates ahead of the December show in Pennsylvania.
“He just has done everything in skating, he’s set new standards, he has raised the bar so high that it has changed the sport of figure skating forever,” Boitano says.
In addition to perfecting his technical feats, Malinin is looking at his future off the ice. He has a goal of becoming “an idol,” and is hoping to do so by building out his merchandise line and creating more opportunities for the next generation of skaters, both by supporting the sport financially and helping bring it wider recognition.
A New Peak of U.S. Figure Skating
Malinin isn’t the first American men’s skater to have cut through the noise in recent years. Nathan Chen’s 2022 Olympic win thrust U.S. men’s figure skating back into the spotlight, placing an American atop the podium for the second time in the past four Games—a spot most often dominated by Russian and Japanese skaters.
But for the U.S. women’s team, there has been a two-decade Olympic medal drought. The last Olympic singles medal came in 2006, when Sasha Cohen won silver. The last gold was four years earlier in 2002, when 16-year-old Sarah Hughes climbed from fourth after the short program and delivered two triple-triple jump combinations to secure the top spot.
Many believe Liu could be the skater to end the long spell.
In the ’90s and early 2000s, women’s figure skating was woven into the fabric of American sports culture, as Nancy Kerrigan, Kristi Yamaguchi and Michelle Kwan took home championship golds and became household names.
“You had this incredible streak back-to-back,” Lipinski says of that era.
Pointing to the sport’s cyclical ebb and flow of talent and a “stars aligning” convergence, both Lipinski and Boitano tell Newsweek that Team USA is sending its deepest slate in decades to Italy.
Headlined by Malinin, Liu and ice dance partners Bates and Chock, the team “is our best chance to get that popularity back,” Boitano says, arguing that it’s not just the team’s stars but the depth behind them that could pull figure skating back into the limelight.
Beyond talent, Boitano says the group reminds him of his team in 1988, remarking on the camaraderie and kindness the skaters exude plus a friendly, supportive rivalry that prior cohorts lacked.
Teammates see it, too.
Over Zoom, two-time captain and soon-to-be five-time-Olympian Bates tells Newsweek: “The best part is that we genuinely are friends with all of these skaters, and we’ll support each other in Milan.”
The skaters bond through global and cross-country competitions and spending time together in new cities during the holiday season, as well as their love of the sport. Before hitting the ice for the “Stars on Ice” tour, the skaters share a “goodie”—a secret handshake or synchronized hair flip that shows their flair and rapport, and often add to it throughout the tour.
“Team USA figure skating is stronger than it’s ever been,” Bates says, pointing to the team’s depth and the impressive young skaters, many of whom are first-time Olympians but record-breakers nonetheless. At 18 years old, Isabeau Levito is the youngest member.
“Figure skating, specifically in the U.S., has really taken off and reached new heights of difficulty and expression,” says Chock, Bates’ wife and ice dance partner. The pair, who wed in 2024, shared an intense chemistry on the ice when they were partnered together in 2011 and only further solidified their connection when they began dating in 2017.
Having built a reputation for performing routines that play out like scenes stitched together through music, movement and costumes designed by Chock, the couple will step on to Olympic ice for the first time as a married couple in February.
“It definitely helps you slip into character,” Chock says of wearing a costume thoughtfully designed for the ice. “It’s like having a side character within our characters.” The 33-year-old from California, who has family far from ice in Hawaii, has designed outfits for other skaters as well, including Spanish ice dancers Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck, Georgian dancers Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin, and this year’s Australian dance team of Holly Harris and Jason Chan.
Despite the American duo’s longtime commitment to the sport, which includes daily three-hour training sessions in Montreal, Chock says, “We remind ourselves, we are people who skate, not skaters who people.”
The duo are at the peak of their career as they head to the Games as gold-medal favorites. Their ’90s-themed rhythm dance and a flamenco-inspired free dance, with Bates as the bull and Chock the matador, won them their third Grand Prix Final in December—after becoming three-time world champions nine months earlier. In January this year, they became the most decorated ice dance team at the U.S. nationals, claiming their seventh title, and fifth in a row.
Their elegant yet daring skate is expected to carry them to the podium in Milan.
While it’s expected that this will be their final Olympics, Chock reaffirms, “We’re certainly not hanging up the skates; we love it, and we want to be a part of the skating community and give back to it as much as it’s given us.”
Returning to the Ice
Liu has rarely moved at anyone else’s pace. A Gen Z skater who’s consistently broken records from a young age, she stepped away from the sport at 16 after her 2022 Olympic debut in Beijing. Then, just as decisively, she came out of retirement in 2024, this time on track to lead Team USA.
The youngest U.S. women’s national champion in history, having won the title at 13, she returns with more ownership over her life, career and mental health, bringing an easygoing and bright energy that Boitano describes as “a kind of carefree abandon” that sets her apart.
On and off the ice, Liu doesn’t take life too seriously. She is quick to smile and laugh as she chats about karaoke playlists, friends and her annual hair ritual of adding a bleached “halo” or “ring” to the top of her head. As she ties up her skates while speaking with Newsweek at Penn Ice Rink in Philadelphia, excited to make TikTok videos on the ice with Boitano, there’s joy in her eyes as she savors the simple fun of skating again—something she says she’d lost along the way, until stepping away from the rink.
In her retirement era at the University of California, Los Angeles, she went on a ski trip that helped reignite her return to the ice. “I’m so much stronger mentally and physically than I was last time I was skating,” she says, laughing. “And I actually like the sport now, funny enough.”
Her affection for what she calls her hobby shows up in practice and performance. As she swiftly moves her body around, floats through takeoffs, and fluidly and artistically spins, she’s grinning the entire time.
Liu might be back in the swing of competitions—she won gold at the Grand Prix Final in December—but she says she’s not treating Olympic training any different than regular practice. “I train the same because I don’t train to compete. I compete so that I can just keep training whenever,” she tells us.
Beyond the talent and artistry, Liu has a strong mental game. She’s steady under pressure. She’s skating for enjoyment, not just the score. Liu says these competitions can feel superficial, adding, “We made it up, these scores and what they mean. What’s important is human connection and happiness, low-key.”
Liu proved this ethos once more with a bold, unusual move: unveiling a brand-new free skate set to a Lady Gaga compilation just one month ahead of the Olympics.
This mentality is why Lipinski calls her a “triple threat” with a “secret weapon” of mastering how to stay in the moment, deliver under intense pressure and nerves, and skate for herself, beautifully.
“She’s in this renaissance. It’s Alysa 2.0, and she’s never been better,” Lipinski says, noting that her “lightness, joy and commitment to artistry and performance has elevated her skating way beyond where she was.”
Liu agrees that it feels like her peak, but notes, “There’s so much I still want to do with training and just to do on the ice, it doesn’t have to be in competition.”
She isn’t the only member of Team USA who took a break from skating and came back stronger.
Glenn, 26, from Plano, Texas, has left the sport twice, citing mental health and burnout. “My skating and mindset has changed tremendously since I left the sport about 10 years ago,” Glenn says over the phone, adding she’s had “a number of transformations.”
She cites two breaks, one earlier in her career to focus on mental health and a second in 2022. “I feel like when I prioritize my mental health, my physical health improves significantly,” she says.
Glenn stunned the audience at the U.S. nationals in St. Louis in January, floating through a clean triple axel to earn 83.05 in the short program—a record score that narrowly put her ahead of Liu.
“It still doesn’t feel real,” she says of the performance.
Olympic Ready
As Liu helps lead the U.S. women’s team back toward the Olympic podium, she’s also nudging the sport for change in a quieter way, welcoming athletes to skate for themselves, to protect their mental health and to make room for friendships, laughter and the small joys that can get lost along the grind.
In St. Louis, Liu, Glenn and Levito hyped each other up between sessions, trading compliments and smiles. “To be surrounded by such incredible athletes and people is something I’ve always dreamed of,” Glenn says about this team, describing it as “strong, resilient, kind and passionate.”
The finalized Team USA roster mainly includes first-time Olympians, including Glenn, Maxim Naumov—whose parents were among 67 killed when an Army helicopter crashed into a passenger plane over Washington, D.C., last January—Andrew Torgashev, Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, Christina Carreira and Anthony Ponomarenko plus Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik.
And for the veterans, there’s a particular kind of anticipation for Milan: the return of full arenas and live audiences after Beijing’s COVID-era restrictions in 2022, with many of the athletes noting how live audiences create a buzz and energy at the rink, helping to improve their skate and make the moment more memorable.
The team is arriving in Milan with a cohort of elite athletes who also skate with personality, style and distinct flair. Together, they’re steering the sport in a new direction—regardless of the medals they leave with.
But many people are confident that the hardware is coming anyways.
Lipinski says, “All signs are pointing to Team USA bringing home the most medals that they have in a long time.”
2026 Team USA Figure Skating Roster
Joosep Martinson/International Skating Union/Getty
