Ilia Malinin entered the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina as one of the most heavily hyped athletes in men’s figure skating. Widely known as the “Quad God”, the 21-year-old shockingly fell twice and finished eighth during the February 13 final, missing the podium entirely.
The disappointment became even more personal when a hot-mic moment captured him reflecting on how the result might have been different if he had experienced the Olympics earlier in his career.
