World champion figure skater Ilia Malinin on a new level of pressure, his quadruple Axel & his special connection with Kagiyama Yuma – Exclusive

Ilia Malinin is preparing himself for Olympic-sized pressure

Malinin has proven himself a quick learner in his meteoric rise in the sport, a tool that could prove uniquely useful as the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 grow closer and he will – no doubt – be considered in the gold-medal conversation.

“I’m starting to think about it, but at the same time, it’s still in the back of my mind because I really don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Malinin said of Milano Cortina. “I feel like I can put a lot of pressure on myself… and I’ve heard the Olympics are a whole completely different [level of] pressure.

“But I’m interested to see how that’s going to feel. And I think I’ll be able to prepare for it very well.”

It’s been a stated goal of Malinin’s to improve his artistry and he’s maintained his sky-high technical level, which includes the quad Axel and – new this season – a crowd-pleasing backflip, which he said developed organically.

“The main idea why I decided to add it was just a coincidence that I wanted to learn this backflip so I could do it in shows,” he said earlier this season. “When I heard that… they allowed backflips into normal competitions,” I decided to add it.

His free skate, set to I’m Not a Vampire (and choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne) also features a raspberry twist (a butterfly jump with a twist added; pictured above), a move originated by Malinin, whose name means “raspberry” in Russian, his family’s native language.

They are all part of the little details that Malinin has tended to as he’s gobbled up technical points, while also working closely with Bourne and his extended team on his artistry.

“Ilia’s very obvious commitment to his performance and skating skills is commendable,” wrote former pair skater Meagan Duhamel, a two-time world champion, on social media during Skate America. “He took such a big step in that area in such a short amount of time.”

“That really sinks deep, because before, I was always known as just the jumper and… there’s really nothing else to it,” Malinin responded, laughing. “But now it seems like all the hard work that I’m putting, all the hours in the morning of just skating skills every day, is really paying off. So I’m really proud of that.”