Ilia Malinin has lived up to the hype at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
The U.S. figure skater first delivered in his first Winter Games event, and then followed that up by landing a backflip on one leg in Day 2 of the team event. The move that ultimately won Team USA back-to-back gold medals in the team event as the Americans finished one point ahead of Japan.
"This definitely is one of the happiest days of my life, and really just sets me up in the right mood and mindset for the next days to come," Malinin told USA TODAY Sports exclusively after the medal ceremony from Sunday's team event.
REQUIRED READING: Ilia Malinin lands backflip on one leg, makes Olympic history
The first-time Olympian still has some work to do at the 2026 Winter Games, as he still has the men's free skating and short program on his events schedule. The short program is first up on Tuesday, Feb. 10 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, while the while the free skating is set for Feb. 10.
