By now you’ve probably heard of Team USA figure skater Ilia Malinin. The Fairfax County athlete is the reigning world champion (for the second year in a row), he’s racking up Grand Prix Final titles, and he’s currently competing in his first Olympic Games, where he’s stunned crowds with his backflips. But one of the skater’s greatest accomplishments may be the mythos he’s created for himself as the “Quad God.” Because, yes, Malinin’s nickname is actually self-anointed.
Last year the skater shared the origin story for his moniker with Washingtonian. When Malinin first got on social media, his original handle was Lutzboy, a reference to another skating move. But after landing two quad jumps in 2020, Malinin opted for a new username. Here’s what he told writer Alex Prewitt:
Everyone kind of got angry at me, like, “Why’d you name yourself Quadg0d? You only landed two quads,” [Malinin] says. “And I was like, “Well, I guess now it’s time for me to land the rest of them.” The username was my motivation.
The strategy seems to have worked. Dubbing yourself a god certainly raises eyebrows, but one could argue the 21-year-old has the resume to back it up. He’s since landed seven quads in a single routine, and he’s the only skater to nail the quad axel in competition, rotating four and a half times in the air. Superhuman? Absolutely. A deity? You can be the judge of that.
Malinin remains “ilia_quadg0d_malinin” on Instagram, and the gold logo on his website reads “Quadgod by Ilia Malinin,” with the “QG” most prominent, almost as if he’s transcended his own name. The nickname has even seeped into official coverage of the Olympic Games, further solidifying Malinin’s self-fulfilling prophecy.
Still, it’s been a tough start to the Olympics for the Quad God. He fell behind Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama in the short program on Saturday and made a few mistakes in his free skate. Despite the errors, his performance on Sunday helped Team USA earn a gold medal. He’s yet to debut the quad axel at the games, but Malinin is not done skating. He will compete in individual events on February 10 and 13, where he’s likely to attempt the move on his biggest stage yet. If Malinin lands it, the Quad God title would be undeniable—no matter who invented it.