Is U.S. Olympic Figure Skater Ilia Malinin Jewish?

U.S. Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin is the “Quad God.”

The 21-year-old is known for packing as many as seven quadruple jumps into his skating programs, and is the only skater to have ever completed the highly difficult quad axel in competition. It’s because of this, in part, that he has already won a gold medal in the figure skating team event at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games. He is also favored to win gold in the men’s event.

But… is the “Quad God” Jewish? Malinin has Russian heritage, and there was a substantial wave of Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Could his family have been a part of that?

It’s time to investigate.

If you’ve been following along with our previous investigations of this nature, you know that we’re looking to check at least one of two boxes. Does Ilia Malinin identify as culturally or religiously Jewish? And/or, does Ilia Malinin have Jewish ancestry? If the answer to either of those questions is a resounding yes, he’s a member of the tribe!

Let’s begin with Ilia Malinin’s family. His parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, are both Russian-born former figure skaters who represented Uzbekistan internationally. The couple immigrated to the United States in 1998 for better training facilities. On his maternal side, his grandfather is Russian figure skating coach Valery Malinin. Based on available information, there is nothing to suggest his family is Jewish.

But what about whether Ilia identifies as religiously Jewish? The answer to that also seems to be no. The “Quad God” has not publicly spoken about his religious beliefs, beyond telling Vulture that if he were to create his own religion it would be “open,” “inviting” and “free-minded.”

Verdict: No, Ilia Malinin is not Jewish. But tap here for some Jewish and Israeli athletes to watch at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.