"Quad God" Ilia Malinin Is The Winter Olympics' Breakout Star
The Run-Through with Vogue
Vogue
4.1 • 764 Ratings
🗓️ 11 February 2026
⏱️ 36 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
If the 2026 Olympics has a breakout star from the winter games, America’s own Ilia Malinin would certainly be among them. The 21-year-old figure skater—who has earned the nickname “Quad God,” for being the only athlete to ever land a quadruple axel during competition—has been having quite the week to celebrate: On Sunday, Malinin helped Team USA secure a gold medal on Sunday, while he also earned earned the top spot in the men's singles short program last night.
Malinin—who has been a rising star in the skating world, and started hitting the ice around six-years-old—is the prodigy child of Olympic figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov. This Olympics, he has been capturing the hearts of sports spectators around the globe, thanks to his distinctive music choices, glitzy wardrobe, and impressive backflips. For new and longtime fans of the pro, you are in even more luck: Shortly before heading to Milan earlier this month, Malinin stopped by The Run- Through for a special bonus episode.
On the docket of our conversation? Malinin shared a close glimpse into what exactly goes into training for a spectacle like the Olympics. “I just think about how I want to perform my best,” Malinin told Vogue co-hosts Christian Allaire and Arden Fanning Andrews. “I try not to give myself unnecessary pressure—I take it as I would prepare for any other competition.” Even so, the athlete did share a sneak peek into what goes into his Olympian wellness routine: He does abstain from caffeine when training, but does always allow himself to partake in a cheeky pre-skate chocolate bar. (Hershey’s, in case you are wondering.)
The Run-Through with Vogue is your go-to podcast where fashion meets culture. Hosted by Chloe Malle, Head of Editorial Content, Vogue U.S.; Chioma Nnadi, Head of British Vogue; and Nicole Phelps, Director of Vogue Runway, each episode features the latest fashion news and exclusive designer and celebrity interviews.
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to a special bonus episode of The Run Through. |
| 0:07.8 | I'm Arden Fanning Andrews, Vogue's beauty at a dart large. |
| 0:10.7 | And I'm Christian Allaire, senior fashion and style writer for Moog. |
| 0:14.4 | We are so excited to bring you our interview with US figure skater Ilya |
| 0:17.4 | Ilya Malanin, aka the Quad God, who just helped the U.S. team win a gold medal at the Milan Cortina Olympics. I personally have been incredibly influenced by Christian's knowledge of Ilya. You have long known of his accolades, I'll say. Big fan, And I've been hardly tuning into the Olympics. |
| 0:38.2 | I hate to admit that. |
| 0:38.9 | But for figure skating, I'm all in. |
| 0:41.0 | Yes. |
| 0:41.5 | I think America's fallen in love with Ilya this past week. |
| 0:44.7 | So it's been so refreshing that people are finally on board with him. |
| 0:48.8 | And I really feel like he is one of those breakout competitors, I'll say, where there is more chitter-chatter |
| 0:57.1 | about Ilya than I've heard in a while about an individual Olympian, I'll say, and especially |
| 1:03.5 | for this to be his first Olympics and have so much buzz around him. It was funny for us to be talking |
| 1:09.7 | to him because we were recording this all remotely during a storm. |
| 1:14.0 | Oh, my God, so true. So we were talking to him from our own homes and looking into his bedroom while we're chatting. |
| 1:21.9 | Yeah, and it felt so personal and intimate, even though he was about to embark onto the Olympics. Yes. |
| 1:28.3 | It was such a funny dynamic, I feel. |
| 1:29.3 | Right. |
| 1:30.3 | It was like we were catching him right before he was leaving for the games, and he was very chill, |
| 1:36.3 | which is also, now that I'm hearing so much commentary about him while he's skating, is what he's known for, is just being like totally relaxed on the ice, |
| 1:45.5 | and he was just as relaxed in our conversation. |
| 1:47.6 | Yes. |
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