During the past four years it has become clear to anyone watching that Ilia Malinin is a once-in-a-generation talent. 

The two-time world figure skating champion isn’t just winning every competition he enters, he’s winning by unheard-of margins. He’s the first (and so far only) figure skater to land a quadruple Axel under the pressure of competition. He’s one of the select skaters to throw in a back flip into his program because he figured he, “Might as well.” And despite the growing pressure, he somehow seems to remain unphased, completing near-perfect programs almost as if it were boring.

As with other stand-out athletes of past Olympic cycles – like Michael Phelps, Simone Biles, and Usain Bolt – it’s impossible to pinpoint just how neatly Malinin has mastered the requirements of his sport. One could point to his body type, or the fact both his parents and a grandparent were figure skaters, or a superior work ethic. Malinin himself isn’t sure, describing his public school childhood as fairly average, adding it wasn’t until about age 14 or 15 when he began to consider a real future in the sport.

“I feel that maybe I was born this way,” he said. “Maybe it was meant to be, or being able to, from a young age, just have confidence."

Part-time coach Rafael Arutyunyan, who has coached a multitude of world and Olympic medalists, including reigning Olympic champion, Nathan Chen, says the secret lies with his parents and Malinin doesn’t disagree. Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov never pushed their children to skate, Malinin said, but as full-time coaches, the rink naturally became part of every day family life.

“My parents are my biggest inspiration,” Malinin said. “They’re my coaches, and they always know how I feel. They’ve been to the Olympics twice, so I think leading up to [Milan Cortina], they’ll be especially helpful.”

Arutyunyan also said there’s a language the most talented young skaters he’s worked with seem to speak. All that’s needed is one word and they understand. “You just open your mouth, and they already basically know what you want to say,” he said. Malinin falls into this category, and as the years have progressed, Arutyunyan feels he is needed less and less for actual technical advice and more as an additional emotional support.

Malinin, however, still feels he has a long way to go. After completing programs that earned record-breaking scores, he can be seen shaking his head, remembering a slightly-imperfect landing or a missed jump. He is friendly with all his competitors and seems unbothered by competing with them, focusing instead on besting his own achievements. By just about every metric known to the sport, he is pushing against all technical boundaries, hinting he’s landed a ‘quint’ jump, spinning five times in the air before landing on a single millimeters-thick blade. It’s so extraordinary that if he were to perform the jump in competition – which he has said he will not attempt until after the Olympics – it wouldn’t even have a score assigned to it.  

“I am most definitely a perfectionist. I like everything to be perfect and specific,” Malinin said. “I try to take out those small issues and weaknesses that I have, and turn them into strengths.”

Like all elite figure skaters, he runs through his programs multiple times per day, stressing his stamina and simulating the requirements of competition. But what he seems uniquely attuned to, is remaining calm when the pressure is on. 

“One of the things that helps me as a skater is I always take things one step at a time. During my performances, I just focus on one element or one trick at a time, and once that trick is finished, then I move onto the next.”

This is not to say he’s immune to the anxiety of high-level performance. Like most athletes and performers, Malinin has habits and routines to get him prepared. In recent years, part of that routine has been eating a Hershey’s chocolate bar just before competing. Beyond the sugar rush is the comfort of the snack and the ritualization of a childhood favorite, and he packs several bars for every event.

“When I was younger, I always liked sweets and Hershey’s chocolate was my favorite,” Malinin said. “Now, it’s become a thing that takes a little bit of the nerves off my competition. It changes how I feel, so it helps me compete better.”

Along with his confectionary choices, away from the ice, Malinin seems like a regular 21-year-old. He goes to college at George Mason University (part time during his push for Olympic gold), plays video games with friends (Fortnite and Minecraft are among his listed favorites), likes skateboarding, and kicks a soccer ball around to warm up. He’s also developing a growing interest in fashion. 

“It’s something new that I’ve recently gotten into, but I really like it and I think it’s a really unique thing,” Malinin said. “I feel like I can take it further for other opportunities – I want to be a clothing designer.” 

The idea of being unique is something that comes up a lot with Malinin. His is a sport that rewards performance and showmanship, and with the technical score firmly under his belt, Malinin is determined to deliver the full package. How he dresses, how he competes, all are part of a developing, curated image that translates to ‘star athlete.’

“I really like being able to stand out from a crowd, and to do things my own way,” Malinin said. “I love that you can express [figure skating] any way that you like, and you can really dig deep into your personality.”

These observations hint at a shrewd awareness that while results and gold medals are important, what drives the popularity of an athlete, of a sport, is celebrity, and he describes his successes not as the end goal, but as a stepping stone. 

“It’s definitely just the beginning of what’s to come. There’s a lot more planned, a lot more secret projects, a lot more I’m hoping to achieve,” he said.

As Malinin heads to Japan to claim what in all likelihood will be a third Grand Prix Final title, he knows it’s another stop on the road to the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. With an estimated worldwide viewership in the billions, it will be the biggest event of his career so far, and his best chance to elevate fandom for the sport he loves. While his eyes most definitely are on the prize ahead, he acutely is aware of the bigger picture.

“I really want figure skating to be big and popular like it was decades ago,” he said. “Huge stadiums sold out. Tons of shows. On every news platform – that’s what I want skating to be brought back to.”