What Happened to "Quad God"? Ilia Malinin Placed No. 8 After Olympic Free Skate
The Quad God had an ending none of us saw coming.
Published Feb. 16 2026, 11:53 a.m. ET
As the world watched the men’s singles figure skating event during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, most folks believed that Ilia Malinin, aka the "Quad God," was a sure bet to win the gold medal. After all, he stood as the two-time reigning world champion, known for his incredible stunts and grace on the ice. So, of course, fans expected another solid performance from the athlete.
The "Quad God" hadn’t lost a major competition since 2023. And with a pristine reputation in place, fans thought that the U.S. would reign supreme with this event. However, things didn’t quite turn out as many, including Ilia, had expected. So, what happened to the "Quad God?" Here’s the rundown of the surprising events.
What happened to the "Quad God"?
Pressure and self-doubt can be hard to look past. Unfortunately, the "Quad God" didn’t have the storybook finish in the men’s singles figure skating event. And while most fans believed that he would at least medal, the 21-year-old finished in eighth place.
As the last skater of the night to take the ice, viewers believed that they saved the best performance for last. However, it looked like Ilia was a shell of himself.
Viewers immediately noticed that something was off. The athlete fell not once, but twice. Fans waited with bated breath to see him stick the landing of a quadruple axel, but instead, he opted for a single axel mid-air. For some reason, he downgraded many of his eye-catching moves, leaving fans perplexed.
“Going into that starting post,” Ilia told USA Today. “I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. There's just so many negative thoughts that just flooded into there. I just did not handle it.”
He later added that he’s still trying to figure out what went wrong.
"I still haven't been able to process what just happened," he said. "It's a lot of mixed emotions.”
To much of a surprise, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, a first-time Olympian, took home the gold. As for silver and bronze, Japanese athletes Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took home the medals.
Ilia still took home gold during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Despite Ilia’s unexpected loss in the singles, he’s still a winner and continues to have the respect of his peers. During the figure skating team event from Feb. 6 to Feb. 8, the "Quad God" saved the U.S. by doing what he does best.
In case you missed it, Team USA held the lead during the first two days with ease. However, after the results from the pairs and women’s competitions came in, we tied with Japan. And as the battle for the gold medal ensued, the men’s free skate stood as our last chance to win.
For Japan, Shun Sato was the last man standing to compete in the event. And for the U.S., the Quad God was our last hope. As fans watched both men take the ice, tension filled the arena. Luckily, Ilia was able to rise to the occasion.
Despite Shun putting on a great show with a clean routine, Ilia clearly outperformed him. The 21-year-old hit a single-footed backflip and five quadruple jumps. When it was all said and done, Team USA defeated Japan by one point.
"I'm proud of myself and proud of my team for all the work they put into this,” Ilia told NPR. “Without each other, we wouldn't have gotten this gold medal.”
Even though the "Quad God" had an upset in the singles event, he still left the 2026 Winter Games with a medal. While he may spend some time reflecting on what transpired, it’s important for him to know that one performance is not indicative of his talent. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. The important thing is how we rise from adversity.