Evgeni Plushenko: “They sent me a video of the American, super athlete, and genius Ilia Malinin doing three backflips in a row at a show. And that’s a sensation! But my student, Lyuba Rubtsova, did this much earlier.”
Coach and two-time Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko commented on Ilia Malinin’s triple backflip, noting that his [...]
Alexei Mishin: “Ilia doesn’t have the most concise anatomical features, nor the highest jump, but he is incredibly talented.
Alexei Mishin explained the unique technical aspects of Ilia Malinin’s jumps, emphasizing his exceptional talent and [...]
Rafael Arutyunyan: “I can imagine what the challenges of the next four years will be for Malinin, but he cannot quite see them yet. That’s the nature of youth – you feel like you understand everything.”
Rafael Arutyunyan shared his thoughts on the future career of three-time world champion Ilia Malinin, praising his [...]
Tatiana Tarasova: “Kagiyama performed fantastically, because everything started with Ilia. He’s a genius who began doing things no one else has done. Everyone looked at Ilia and realized it’s possible.”
Tatiana Tarasova praised Ilia Malinin’s resilience and historic performance at Worlds, highlighting his ability to [...]
“The proposed changes undermine the essence of figure skating. The ISU should reconsider everything and give all athletes a voice.” Malinin, Kagiyama and Sato on ISU’s proposed rule changes that would eliminate the combined short and free program scoring system
Top male medalists at Worlds voiced concerns over the ISU’s proposed rule changes that would eliminate the combined [...]
“I’m very sad to think that there seems to be a rift between the family and Rafael Arutyunyan – otherwise, I think, the coach would have been sitting in the kiss-and-cry with Ilia.” Journalist Elena Vaitsekhovskaya
Journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya reflected on Ilia Malinin’s World Championship win, expressing both happiness for [...]
Ilia Malinin: “Which Worlds gold medal was the hardest to win? Probably the first one because I wanted to fulfill all the expectations I had at my first Worlds. Today, I just felt relief after the Olympic season.”
Ilia Malinin reflects on his third World Championship gold, his exhaustion after the Olympic season, and his hopes to [...]
“He proved himself a true athlete, a hero of his time. I love talented people and his program – I think it’s wonderful.” Tatiana Tarasova on Ilia Malinin
Tatiana Tarasova praised Ilia Malinin’s performance at the World Championships, calling him a true athlete and the [...]
“This was Ilia’s first Olympics, and I believe it won’t be his last. Conclusions have been drawn, and now he is preparing for the World Championships.” Sports agent Zakarian on Malinin’s plans
Ilia Malinin’s agent, Ari Zakarian, spoke about Malinin’s plans. original source: MatchTV [...]
Evgeni Plushenko: “I was very disappointed things didn’t work out for Malinin, but there are reasons. Psychologically, he wasn’t ready for the pressure, the journalists, the interactions – just like I wasn’t in 2002. He lost focus.”
Russian figure skater and now coach Evgeni Plushenko shared his thoughts on the disappointing result of American [...]
Ilia Malinin: “I let fear in and it ruined me. Now, time to get back up. Next step, Redemption. See you in Prague.”
American figure skater Ilia Malinin summed up his performance at the Milan Olympics. original source: Instagram [...]
Carolina Kostner: “For Malinin, it was definitely tough. Getting up after a fall is very personal. But you need to know that a fall doesn’t define your career; in fact, it can help you understand what you want to do more or differently next time.”
Carolina Kostner reflected on Ilia Malinin’s Olympic disappointment, the challenges of being both a parent and [...]
“It’s what I experience every day, being under constant scrutiny and pressure. Not every athlete is able to handle this. Honestly, I don’t think I was ready for it at these Olympic Games.” Ilia Malinin about his Olympic exhibition program
Olympic champion in team event and world champion Ilia Malinin reflected on his exhibition program dedicated to mental [...]
Rafael Arutyunyan: “Ilia is not to blame, and I have already told him this. The fault lies with us, the adults, who failed to protect a young athlete from making wrong decisions.”
Rafael Arutyunyan commented on Ilia Malinin’s underwhelming performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics, where Malinin [...]
Mikhail Shaidorov: “I told Ilia after his performance that it was incredible to skate on the same ice with him. And he told me that I deserved this victory.”
Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov reflected on the unexpected performance of American skater Ilia Malinin at the [...]
Evgeni Plushenko: “Watching Malinin, I couldn’t help but think of Salt Lake City. I was driven by a single goal: to win. And I burned out. It wasn’t the team event that drained him – it was the overwhelming hype, the constant media attention, endless photo shoots, and interviews.”
Two-time Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko shared his thoughts on why American figure skater Ilia Malinin [...]
“The tremendous stress ruined his entire program. I believe the team event drained all his energy!” Tatiana Tarasova on Malinin’s performance
Tatiana Tarasova expressed her opinion on how participating in the team event affected American figure skater Ilia [...]
Evgeni Plushenko: “Despite success in the short program, I still don’t have full confidence in Ilia Malinin’s ultimate victory.”
Two-time Olympic champion and renowned coach Evgeni Plushenko believes that American skater Ilya Malinin may not win [...]
Evgeni Plushenko: “If Malinin is mentally prepared and lands the quadruple axel, no one will beat him. But now, there’s no longer 100% certainty. Especially since the two Japanese skaters – Kagiyama and Sato – are very strong.”
Evgeni Plushenko named the main contenders for medals in the figure skating competitions at the 2026 Olympics in [...]
“It seemed that Malinin was emotionally burned out – he had spent too much energy, participating in various Olympic activities during his free time from training,” sports journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya
Russian sports journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya evaluated two-time world champion Ilia Malinin’s performance in the [...]
Tatiana Tarasova: “It was the first time I saw Malinin make mistakes. In my opinion, he had no energy. Maybe he is dealing with acclimatization.”
Tatiana Tarasova commented on the results of the men’s short program in the team event at the 2026 [...]
“It’s a great honor to receive a gift from Ovi.” and “I’m sure that when things return to normal, it would be possible.” Ilia Malinin on Alexander Ovechkin and visiting Russia
Ilia Malinin on Alexander Ovechkin and expressed openness and visiting Russia when the global situation becomes less [...]
“He’s just a normal, good guy! A sweetheart, as I call him. Open to communication, very calm. I didn’t notice any arrogance. Ilia speaks Russian, understands everything, but gives interviews in English.” Tuktamysheva on Ilia Malinin
World figure skating champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva announced that she will go to the 2026 Olympics in Milan as a [...]
Elizaveta Tuktamysheva: “The showdown between Fournier Beaudry/Cizeron and Chock/Bates will be truly intense. This is something you definitely need to see! Most likely, it will be the last time we see these pairs compete together.”
2015 World and European champion Elizaveta Tuktamysheva will serve as a correspondent for Okko at the 2026 Winter [...]