ANAHEIM, Calif. — For the first time in a long time, when Ilia Malinin steps on the ice, pressure isn’t lurking behind.
For as talented as the 21-year-old is, racking up championships left and right with his signature jumps, it was a stressful one. The expectation to win everything, with anything less viewed as a letdown, can easily get to you — as it did at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
With the gold medal his to take — and the final piece to cap off one of the most dominant runs in figure skating — Malinin struggled in the men’s free skate, with his program unraveling into several mistakes that kept him off the Olympic podium. It was the worst competition result of his senior career since March 2022.
After admitting the pressure got to him, and handling the moment with grace, he rebounded by winning his third consecutive world championship. Yet, even in victory, the expectation was to come back with another win. With each step on the ice, pressure might as well have been on skates, too.
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That’s what makes this time so enjoyable. No stress or weight on his shoulders. Just doing what he loves — and continuing to wow everyone in the process.
“There's no pressure of judges and having to perform perfectly,” Malinin told USA Today Sports. “You really can just do absolutely everything, and just enjoy what you want to do.”
It’s been a refreshing time for the “Quad God,” as part of the stacked Stars on Ice cast touring the country, building off the success of the 2026 Winter Olympics with packed arenas at every stop.
Ilia Malinin does a backflip during his routine at the 2026 Stars on Ice show held at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York, on May 5.
Malinin said “it's been really fun” to be part of, from being surrounded by fellow Olympians like the “Blade Angels” to just putting on dazzling shows that still showcase him as 1-of-1 in the sport.
You want to see quad jumps? He’s got plenty of them. What about a backflip? How about six of them, including one program where he does a whopping four in one performance.
It can’t be anymore obvious how much fun he has, showcasing that swagger in the process while having the crowd in the palm of his hand. Whether it’s the several creative group numbers accompanied by dazzling costumes, his modified Olympic programs or pure entertainment performances, the audience remains locked in every time he is skating, getting more electric with each quad jump and backflip he executes.
Everyone knows him as the top competitive men’s figure skater, but this is where you see Malinin at his purest form. His favorite part of it all?
“Performing for the audience and not having any expectations of what to do,” he said. “Just really be myself out there and show them who Ilia is.”
Ilia Malinin contemplates competing next season
The men’s individual performance overshadowed his heroic performance to secure Team USA the gold medal in the team event, leaving him unable to redeem himself until the 2030 Winter Olympics in the French Alps. While that’s some time away, Malinin isn’t dwelling on what unfolded in Milano Cortina.
“I'm just more of just like, it's done, I'm really not thinking about it, talking about it anymore. I'm just like, it's over,” he said. “I'm satisfied with it, and I just get to enjoy what's coming next.”
However, what’s coming next is uncertain.
After winning a whopping 24 events in the past four seasons, Malinin hasn’t decided when his next one will be as he is contemplating sitting out some or all of the 2026-27 season. He first confirmed the news to Olympics.com.
Malinin isn’t the only one trying to figure out their immediate future. Madison Chock and Evan Bates previously told USA Today Sports in April they haven’t decided on if they’ll continue their decorated careers. The pair of Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who were clutch in getting Team USA gold, are still weighing it out.
Still, Malinin is one of the biggest names in the sport, and his decision could have major ramifications on the outlook of the men’s division.
He will finish out the rest of Stars on Ice, and spend the summer doing what he loves to do. He said that doesn’t necessarily mean he will be off the ice, and he could skate every now and then, but the time will be about putting “all the priorities to me.”
One plan that is for sure is to grow his YouTube channel. He uploaded his first video in April and the channel already has more than 71,000 subscribers. Malinin doesn’t have any specific type of content he wants to upload, but he just wants to “show the world the other side of me that's not always at the competitions or at the shows.”
“It's really purely just 100% me,” he said.
As for any other plans, he just wants to take things one step at a time and see what lines up for him.
He doesn’t know exactly when he can or will decide what he plans to do for the 2026-27 season. There isn’t some epiphany or revelation expected. It might become more clear as summer goes on, since skaters typically have at least some semblance of what their programs will be by the end of July. The first possible event Malinin can compete in is the France Grand Prix on Oct. 23-25.
“It's just off of feeling, I think is the best way to put it,” Malinin said of when he will know his move. “If I feel like I want to get back to competing, then sure. If not, then I guess not. So it's really just gonna see how everything leads up to that moment.”
Regardless of whether he competes or not, Malinin is excited for what’s in store for the sport. There are several talented skaters, but his openness of the mental side of competing, along with the joy Alysa Liu showcased on her way to gold and the camaraderie of the “Blade Angels” with Liu, Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito is what lead him to declare this time a “different era” and “prime days” of figure skating.
“Skating itself is really starting to turn into this diverse community of amazing athletes that go out there and perform and present themselves in different ways,” he said. “It's such a different vibe from decades ago, where everyone was kind of rivals with each other, and they'd hate each other's guts when they're competing. I think now it's a healthier environment, where all of us are really tightly packed, and we're all supporting each other. There for each other no matter what country or city or place they skate.”
So, it remains to be decided when Malinin will compete again to continue his run of dominance. But that’s a later problem, because right now, the “Quad God” is relishing how fun it can be on the ice.
