Yes, Ilia Malinin won Olympic gold.

Nicknamed the "Quad God," the 21-year-old American figure skater played a decisive role in Team USA's victory at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina.

Event Details

On February 8, 2026, Malinin delivered a high-pressure performance in the figure skating team event free skate. Despite a mid-program stumble and skipping his signature quad Axel, he landed five quadruple jumps , scoring 200.03 points to edge out Japan. This broke a tie, securing Team USA's second straight gold (69-62 over Japan), with Italy earning bronze at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.

Malinin's Performance Breakdown

  • Short Program : Solid but not perfect, placing second overall contribution.
  • Free Skate : Clutch heroics with quads including lutz (despite a fall), securing the win.
  • First Olympic Medal : Team gold marks his debut triumph after four straight U.S. titles.

"Quad God meets Olympic triumph."

Trending Buzz

Social media and forums exploded post-event, hailing Malinin's comeback from an unstable short program. Fans debated his choice to hold back the quad Axel for individual events ahead, calling it a smart "do-or-die" strategy. As of February 11, 2026, clips of his routine rack up millions of views, boosting figure skating's popularity beyond core audiences.

Medal Standings

Team| Medal| Key Skater Notes
---|---|---
USA| Gold| Malinin's 200.03 clinched it 1
Japan| Silver| Tied until final skate 9
Italy| Bronze| Home crowd emotional win 1 3

His individual men's event results are still unfolding—watch for updates there.

TL;DR: Ilia helped Team USA snag team figure skating gold on Feb 8 with epic quads under pressure.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.