On Friday, the US Olympic skater known as the “Quad God” will compete in his last event of the 2026 Winter Games. Everyone will be watching to see if he does his famous quad axel—and a backflip, too.

Ilia Malinin is not like most figure skaters. Even when he makes mistakes, he is still so far ahead of the rest that he wins Olympic gold.

Ilia Malinin begins his quest for men's singles gold with the short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Follow the action.