There is a reason Ilia Malinin is nicknamed the ‘Quad God.’ Effortless jumps, clean landing, graceful quads, he has it all. Naturally, he came to the 2026 Winter Olympics as the overwhelming favorite to win the men’s singles gold. Malinin followed through with the heavy expectations and glided to victory at the Milan Ice Skating Arena, largely because of the huge quadruple jumps that separate him from every other skater in the world.

He nailed his opening jump, a quad flip, with complete control. Then, Malinin’s implementation of a quad Lutz–triple toe loop combination impressed the judges so much that they gave him the highest score ever (22.03) for a single short program element. With a total score of 108.16, Malinin won the short program by 10.16 points and built a 5.09-point lead over Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama heading into the free skate.

While Ilia Malinin is grabbing the spotlight at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, and by extension, around the world, there is a narrative around his dazzling performance that is troubling the fans.

Ilia Malinin’s sweep sparks outrage over Nathan Chen’s NBC snub

“Since NBC seems deadset on erasing Nathan Chen from the narrative, let me be the one to tell you that four years ago, he set a short program world record that no one (including Ilia!) has topped since. In fact, he currently holds 2/3 of the world records; Ilia only has the free,” wrote an agitated fan. Nathan Chen set the men’s short program world record at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics with 113.97 points, and it hasn’t been overshadowed since. 

Chen also holds the best combined total (335.30 at the 2019–20 Grand Prix Final) and the best short program total (113.97 at the 2022 Winter Olympics). His achievements carry significant weight in figure skating history, yet fans believe NBC commentators are overlooking that context in their analysis.

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During the broadcast, Johnny Weir referred to Malinin as “the benchmark,” a comment that further fueled comparisons to Chen. Two days before the event, Weir said in an interview, “If I had to say one thing to tune in for is definitely Ilia Malinin. If you miss his performance at the Olympics, it’d be like missing Harry Potter fight Voldemort. Or missing the first man walk on the moon. It’s going to be that kind of iconic and epic. So definitely tune in for him.”

That is the framing that is causing this stir among the fans. According to them, how can Ilia be the benchmark when Nathan is arguably more accomplished than him? To be fair, Weir himself has praised Nathan in the past.

“You can certainly see a huge influence across, especially men’s skating from Nathan Chen, whether it’s the way he dressed or the way he skated and the new boundaries he’s able to break technically, and including so many quadruple jumps in his performances,” he said at the NBC conference call. 

“The level of artistry in Nathan’s skating is something I’ve never quite witnessed Ilia reach, and I feel like people think that’s not okay to say. Ilia is incredible, and I enjoy watching him skate, and that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have room to become even better,” analysed a fan. 

When Chen set the record at the 2022 Winter Olympics, the 22-year-old had a nearly flawless performance. It included two quadruple jumps and a triple axel. When he completed the 2019 Grand Prix Final three-peat in 2019, Chen hit two quad toe loops, a quad flip, a quad Lutz, and a quad Salchow with no significant errors. 

Arguably, he is the reason behind the ‘Quad revolution.’ Tara Lipinski, a 1998 Olympic gold medalist, credited Chen for this immense change: “Nathan really revolutionized men’s skating.”

She highlighted that “without Nathan, we would not be seeing multiple quads in a performance all the time.”

While many complained about Nathan’s exclusion in the broadcast, others simply missed Chen at the grand Milan-Cortina stage.

“I don’t get it. I have yet to hear Nathan Chan’s name mentioned once this Olympics. They completely erased him. There was a Quad King before the Quad God! 👑” wrote a fan. “I miss watching his skating so much! Nathan had the jumps AND the artistry, so beautiful to watch,” echoed another.  

Chen is missing the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.

“I just want to open doors to kind of see what’s the best sort of approach for me,” Chen told The Los Angeles Times in August. “And frankly, at this point in time in my life, I’ve already accomplished enough in skating that I’m quite satisfied with my career.” 

The feeling of satisfaction reduces the hunger to compete, and he hasn’t since the Beijing Games. Chen announced that he will embark on a new career in medicine. However, this is not a formal retirement for Chen, leaving options open to come back if he wants to.