Ilia Malinin enters Friday's men's free skate in first place after a virtuoso figure skating performance in the short program that earned him a 108.16 from the judges. He is building on the success of an unforgettable backflip that helped propel the United States to gold in the team event and has the opportunity to further his legacy with an individual triumph.
Every two years, Olympians move from the fringes of the collective sports consciousness closer to the center, with some cementing themselves as household names for decades to come. That's what Malinin is doing right now and with that everyone is hearing his incredible nickname more often.
