On Ice Perspectives

Embrace the Storm... Ilia Malinin's 2026 Olympic Free Program (Previewed in August 2025)

The only true wisdom, is in knowing you know nothing. Ilia "QuadGod" Malinin 2026 Olympic Free Program, recorded while training at his home rink in August 2025. Last summer, Ilia invited me to his home rink to help film the teasers for his brand new programs, choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne. Being so early in the skating season, I expected to only capture small choreographic pieces, without many jumps, as is usual when skaters are still building their choreography. But instead Ilia treated me to the full program experience, from start to finish, only substituting his quads for triples. It was clear to me that Ilia’s goal for this season was to tell a story—his story. He wasn’t content with just being called “The Quad God” anymore. He wanted to bring audiences in, to subvert their expectations, and give them something innovative beyond just the number of rotations he could do in the air. What Ilia showed us last night was his humanity, hugging and congratulating Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov and telling him “you deserve it.” I had hoped to share this video to celebrate the beginning of this season—now I’m sharing it to celebrate the beginning of the next chapter, one which I plan to follow enthusiastically. After all, this is only his first Olympics. Music: "The Ball" (From Le Bal des folles), Composed by Asaf Avidan "The Smell of the Sea", Composed by Alan Mayer "Code Duello", Composed by Power-Haus, Sergiu-Dan Muresan Filmed by Jordan Cowan of On Ice Perspectives http://instagram.com/oniceperspectives On Ice Perspectives' goal is to encourage the enjoyment of all kinds of figure skating, from professional to beginner, spectator to participant. If you’d like to support this mission, you can join our Patreon and receive regular updates on our progress. http://patreon.com/oniceperspectives Jordan Cowan is a former Team USA ice dancer turned freelance camera operator specializing in skate camera operation and live sports broadcast. For work inquires: http://oniceperspectives.com/contact Find more 'On Ice Perspectives' here: Web: http://www.oniceperspectives.com Patreon: http://patreon.com/oniceperspectives Instagram: http://instagram.com/oniceperspectives TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@oniceperspectives YouTube: http://youtube.com/oniceperspectives Facebook: http://facebook.com/oniceperspectives Twitter: http://twitter.com/iceperspectives Twitch: http://twitch.tv/oniceperspectives #iliamalinin #milanocortina2026 #olympics #iceskating #figureskating #oniceperspectives #icedancing #icedance #iceskate #figureskate #isufigureskating