When does Ilia Malinin skate again at the Winter Olympics? Here's when the skate star will go for gold again, rules - and why he does a backflip

In previous years the likes of Torvill & Dean and Eddie the Eagle Edwards have become household names and this year it looks like American athlete Ilia Malinin is set to join them.

Read more: Curling rules: As Team GB go for gold here's how to play the Winter Olympic sport

He has already helped the USA to team gold in the team event and looks set to do the same in the men’s figure skating, leading at the half way point of the contest.

Here’s everything you need to know about the skater - including when you can see him skate.

Who is Ilia Malinin?

Born on December 2, 2004, in Fairfax, Virginia, Malinin comes from a family of ice skaters - the son of 10-time Uzbekistan national champion Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov who represented Russia in the Olympics before before switching to Uzbekistan and becoming a seven-time Uzbek national champion.

At junior level, Malinin was the 2022 World Junior champion and a two-time Junior Grand Prix gold medalist.

Since 2023 he is a two-time World champion, three-time Grand Prix Final champion, seven-time Grand Prix gold medalist, four-time Challenger Series gold medalist, and four-time U.S. national champion.

He is the only skater to successfully land a fully rotated quadruple Axel in international competition.

How has Ilia Malinin performed in the Winter Olympics so far?

Malinin has performed pretty exceptionally so far, helping the USA to win the team competition before topping the leaderboard with a score of 108.16 in the men’s short programme. He now leads second-placed Yuma Kagiyama by more than five points going into the free skating finale.

When is Ilia Malinin next skating at the Winter Olympics?

Malinin will perform for the last time at this year’s Olympics in the men’s free skating - the second half of the figure skating competition - at 6pm on Friday, February 13.

How can I watch Ilia Malinin at the 2026 Winter Olympics?

All the action will be available to watch live on the BBC - with coverage across BBC One, BBC Two, the iPlayer and the Red Button.

What are the rules for the men’s figure skating competition?

All Olympic skaters first perform their short programme (which took place on February 10), which should last no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds. The programme must contain a number of elements, namely one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface.

The top 24 highest scoring skaters then progress to the free skate, lasting no more than 4 minutes. It has to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one has to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one has to be a spin combination, one has to be a flying spin, and one has to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence.

How is figure skating judged and scored?

All of the technical elements are scored seperately to generate a total elements score. The judges then evaluate the skaters on three programme components – skating skills, presentation and composition - before combining them for a total score.

Why does Ilia Malinin do a backflip when nobody else does?

Malinin has become known for his trademark backflip on the ice which, you might notice, isn’t included in any of the mandatory elements. It actually used to be illegal to perform a backflip but now it’s allowed as part of the artistic performance. It doesn’t count for any more points than skating in a straight line though - Malinin is just showing off!

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