Is Ilia Malinin Russian? the Truth Behind the ‘Quad God’s’ Heritage and Olympic Rise
Malinin's jump technique is unique because it blends two distinct philosophies. From his parents, he learned the traditional Soviet jump technique: deep knee bends, an upright chest at takeoff, and explosive vertical lift before initiating the snap. That foundation prevents the rotational wobble that plagues many teenage jumpers.
To modernize that base, his coaching team brought in Rafael Arutyunyan, the Armenian-American master technician who guided Nathan Chen to Olympic gold in 2022. Working with Arutyunyan in California gave Malinin the biomechanical adjustments needed to survive four-and-a-half rotations in the air. While Russian state schools often burn out athletes by age 18 through grueling repetition, Malinin trained under American volume limits. He practiced the quadruple axel on an overhead fishing-pole harness in Virginia before ever trying it unassisted on hard ice.
When he landed the first clean quadruple axel in international competition at the 2022 U.S. International Classic, figure skating analysts marveled at the takeoff. He generated 3.2 to 3.4 revolutions per second in the air, landing on an outward edge with zero downgrade markers from the judging panel. That technical breakthrough earned him the self-styled moniker "Quad God."
