‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin avenges Olympic disappointment with backflip for third straight world title

It seems like Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” has done a nice job of moving on from his Olympic heartbreak.

Last month, the 21-year-old Team USA star was the overwhelming favorite to bring home the gold in the men’s free skate. But the unimaginable happened as he fell twice and dropped all the way to eighth place.

However, he has begun to avenge the loss and is now a three-time world champion.

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Ilia Malinin from the United States competes during the men free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026.  (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Malinin shouted and punched the air with relief after finishing a skate that showed he had achieved his desire to “move on” from the Olympics after days of being tormented by his mistakes.

Malinin scored 218.11 in the free skate for a total of 329.40, far ahead of silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan on 306.67. Another Japanese skater, Shun Sato, was third on 288.54.

Malinin was blunt about his Olympic performance when speaking to NBC afterward, saying simply, “I blew it,” and said it was a clear mental hurdle from start to finish.

“I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters. 

Gold medalist Ilia Malinin from the United States waves to spectators after the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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“So, I just feel like it’s the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can’t control now. The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he added. “But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process.” 

But with some pressure off, Malinin was able to show who he truly is on the ice.

Gold medalist, Ilia Malinin from the United States waves before the medal ceremony after the men’s free skating at the Figure Skating World Championships in Prague, Czech Republic, Saturday, March 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Malinin becomes the first skater to win three consecutive men’s world titles since fellow American Nathan Chen, who achieved the feat in 2018, 2019 and 2021 after the 2020 event was canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.  

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