Ilia Malinin lifts US to gold
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U.S. figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin did a backflip in his Olympic debut, and another the next day. The controversial move was banned from competition for decades until 2024.
A battle between the US and Japan was heating up in the Olympic figure skating team event. Ilia Malinin needed to change his plans to save the day.
Watch Ilia Malinin execute a backflip and land on one leg during the men's free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics team event.
Rafael Arutyunyan, the coach who mentored "Quad King" Nathan Chen is also the coach to "Quad God" Ilia Malinin. Meet the Irvine-based "Quad Maker."