The Tamesis
If there’s been one breakout star from the 2026 Winter Olympics so far, American native Ilya Marinen is almost certainly one of them. The 21-year-old figure skater, who earned the nickname “The Quad God” for being the only skater to land a quadruple axel in competition, is having a pretty good week: Marinen helped the U.S. win team gold on Sunday, and last night he took first place in the men’s singles short program.
Malinin began skating at about six years old and was a prodigy in the footsteps of Olympic figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skoniakov. At the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Milan, he captured the hearts of a global audience with his unique music choices, gorgeous costumes and impressive backflips. But before setting off for Italy, he stopped at Fashion office attendance penetrate.
“I just think about how to perform at my best,” Marinen said in an interview with my colleague Arden Fanning Andrews and me about his Olympic training. “I try not to put unnecessary pressure on myself — I think that’s just like when I prepare for any other competition.” For example, that means giving up caffeine — though he Do Treat yourself to a cheeky piece of chocolate before skating. (Hershey, in case you were wondering.)
Marinen also discussed how to perfect his mastery: practice, practice, practice. “Once you make it happen the first time, you understand what you need to do to make it happen again,” he said. “What you have to try to do is repeat that movement or muscle memory over and over again.”
“Most of the time, I really like to break out of the box and do something completely different — as unique as possible,” Malinin continues, citing his skating music (this week he performed Náttúra’s “Dies Irae” and 2WEI’s “The Lost Crown”) and eye-catching leotards. “In the future, I hope to be able to design my own clothing and clothing in general,” he joked. Sources tell us he’ll have someone to take over his job once the Olympics are over.
hear FashionFull conversation with the “Four Gods” above.
