Ilia Malinin has seized his first opportunity at redemption since his 2026 Winter Olympic disaster.
At the figure skating world championships in Prague on Thursday, Malinin — also known as “Quad God” — led the pack after the short program with a total of 111.29 points.
The defending two-time world champion began with a quad flip and a combination of quad lutz and triple toe loop, living up to his moniker.
Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fa trailed in second (101.85) by more than nine points.
Malinin entered last month’s Milano-Cortina games as the heavy favorite in men’s ice skating and finished the short program at the top of the leaderboard at 108.16.
It all came crashing down in the free skate, where a series of falls and mistakes resulted in a disappointing eighth-place finish. Malinin finished the free skate with a score of 156.33.
“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling. The most honest way to say it is it’s just a lot of on you, just so many eyes, so much attention,” Malinin said on “Today” afterward. “It really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it, so I think that might be one of the mistakes I made going into that free skate was I was not ready to handle that to a full extent.
“… All I have to do is just learn from my mistakes there and push to see how I can improve in the future. I can take a different approach leading up to the next Games, hopefully.”
In the aftermath of his Olympic heartbreak, Malinin posted a video on social media featuring happy skating memories stitched with clips of him holding his head in his hands at the Winter Games.
Malinin referenced “invisible battles” in the post’s caption. He also reposted videos with concerning messages, such as: “Your little boy is tired, mom.”
Based on Thursday’s performance, it’s clear Malinin is beginning to exorcise those demons.
