{"id":823,"date":"2026-03-02T02:13:47","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=823"},"modified":"2026-03-02T02:13:47","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T02:13:47","slug":"ilia-malinin-almost-chose-a-different-dream-and-for-a-moment-his-olympian-parents-thought-the-ice-had-lost-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=823","title":{"rendered":"Ilia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ilia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him. Born to Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, he grew up surrounded by elite skating but quietly drifted toward soccer, hoping for an easier path. They didn\u2019t push \u2014 they knew the bruises, the pressure, the mental toll. But talent like his doesn\u2019t stay hidden. The ice called him back. What began as hesitation turned into history, as the boy who nearly walked away became the \u201cQuad God.\u201d And while arenas roar at every jump, a mother still watches with her heart racing \u2014 because even in a dynasty built on blades, greatness always comes with a cost.<\/p>\n

\n

NEED TO KNOW<\/h3>\n
\n
    \n
  • Ilia Malinin\u2019s parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, are former Olympic figure skaters<\/li>\n
  • After marrying in 2000, they welcomed two children: Ilia and Elli<\/li>\n
  • The former ice skating pros have coached their son throughout his career<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

    Ilia Malinin\u00a0comes from a family of Olympic skaters, including his parents Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

    Though they were both born in Russia, Malinin\u2019s parents competed for Uzbekistan at the 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, per\u00a0CBS News. Malinina and Skorniakov later moved to Dale City, Va., where they married in January 2000 and welcomed two children: Malinin and his younger sister, Elli Beatrice.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    The self-proclaimed \u201cQuad God\u201d told PEOPLE in January 2026 that he originally had no plans to follow in his parents\u2019 footsteps. It wasn\u2019t until he landed his first quad jump at 13 that his parents realized he was \u201csurprisingly good.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

    In 2022, the athlete, who earned his\u00a0first Olympic gold medal\u00a0in the team event at the\u00a02026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, became the first \u2014 and so far, only \u2014 person in the world to land the difficult, four-revolution jump in competition.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI thought I was going to be a soccer player,\u201d he told PEOPLE, \u201cbut my parents didn\u2019t have time to take me to soccer lessons \u2014 so skating kind of took over.\u201d<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n
    <\/div>\n

    Here\u2019s everything to know about Ilia Malinin\u2019s parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

    They\u2019re from Russia\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"Ilia<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Ilia Malinin with his dad Roman Skorniakov in June 2023.<\/span>Ilia Malinin\/Instagram <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Both Skorniakov and Malinina are from Russia. Malinin\u2019s mother was born in Novosibirsk, the unofficial capital city of Siberia, on Jan. 28, 1973, per her International Skating Union\u00a0bio. She later chose to represent Uzbekistan after she relocated there as a teen.<\/p>\n

    Born on Feb. 17, 1976, Skorniakov was raised in Sverdlovsk, a Russian industrial hub, per his ISU\u00a0bio.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Malinina and Skorniakov were both Olympic figure skaters<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"Roman<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Roman Skorniakov of Uzbekistan competes in the men\u2019s short program during the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games ; Tatiana Malinina of Uzbekistan performs during the ladies qualifying free-skating event for the World Figure Skating Championships on March 24, 1999.<\/span>Jamie Squire\/Getty ; PASCAL PAVANI \/ AFP via Getty <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Malinin\u2019s parents skated for Uzbekistan in the Olympics twice \u2014 once in 1998 and again in 2002.<\/p>\n

    In addition to her stints at the Games, Malinina became the first Four Continents Champion in history in 1999 and was the first Uzbekistan skater to medal at the ISU Championships and in the ISU Grand Prix. Her father, Valery Malinin, is a former figure skater-turned-coach in Russia who used to bring the \u201cQuad God\u201d to the rink when he babysat him.<\/p>\n

    Skorniakov also competed for Uzbekistan and won the men\u2019s singles title at the National Championships in 1997, per his ISU bio. After they retired from skating in 2002, they both became coaches, per\u00a0NBC Sports.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    They got married in 2000<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"Ilia<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Ilia Malinin and his mom Tatiana Malinina in May 2023.<\/span>Ilia Malinin\/Instagram <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    In 1998, the couple moved to Virginia because their practice conditions in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, had deteriorated, per their ISU bios. Two years later, they tied the knot in January 2000.<\/p>\n

    \u201cI like America very much,\u201d Malinina told Golden Skate in March 2002. \u201cIt was difficult to come to America, but easy to stay.\u201d<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Malinina and Skorniakov have two kids<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"Ilia<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Ilia Malinin with his family in June 2025.<\/span>Ilia Malinin\/Instagram <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    After Malinina and Skorniakov got married, they welcomed their son, Ilia, on Dec. 2, 2004, in Fairfax, Va., per\u00a0NBC. According to NBC Sports, the skater decided to take his mother\u2019s last name in the traditional masculine form in Russian because his parents were worried that Skorniakov would be hard to pronounce.<\/p>\n

    The couple later welcomed their daughter, Elli, who goes by the nickname \u201cLiza.\u201d She\u2019s also taken to the family sport and is a nationally ranked junior skater.<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Malinin said his parents didn\u2019t want him to skate \u201cat all\u201d<\/span><\/h2>\n
    \n
    \n
    \"<\/div>\n<\/div>
    Ilia Malinin of United States with his mother and coach Tatiana Malinina during the World Team Trophy on April 15, 2023 in Tokyo, Japan.<\/span>Toru Hanai \u2013 International Skating Union\/International Skating Union via Getty <\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    The Olympic gold medalist started skating when he was 6 years old. But at first, his parents didn\u2019t take his training \u201cseriously.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Malinina told NBC Sports in March 2022 that they only kept Malinin at the rink after school while they were coaching.<\/p>\n

    That all changed when Malinin qualified for the 2015 U.S. Championships in the juvenile division. At the time, he was 9 years old and only practicing three days a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Ilia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him. Born to Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, he grew up surrounded by elite skating but quietly drifted toward soccer, hoping for an easier path. They didn\u2019t push \u2014 they knew the bruises, the pressure, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":824,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nIlia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him - Vibes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vibes15.com\/?p=823\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ilia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him - Vibes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ilia Malinin Almost Chose a Different Dream \u2014 and for a moment, his Olympian parents thought the ice had lost him. 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