When a skating legend like Brian Boitano, the 1988 figure skating Olympic champion, calls what you’re doing “legendary,” it puts you in a different league. Boitano believed that what Ilia Malinin was doing would change the future of figure skating. And for a while, it looked that way. From late 2023 through to the Winter Olympics, Malinin was undefeated, winning every competition he entered. But his first Olympics did not go as planned. Soon after, the conversation around him began to change, and now he’s facing a reality check from a veteran.

That shift became more visible when three-time Olympic gold medalist Irina Rodnina was recently asked to compare her career with Malinin’s, as reported by an X tweet by FS gossip. “Do you agree that you were the Ilia Malinin of your time?” she was reportedly asked. To this, the retired figure skater had a rather blunt answer.

Rodnina, one of the most decorated figures in skating history and the only pair skater to win 10 successive World Championships, reportedly said, “In my time, I was Irina Rodnina in figure skating. You can’t compare me to Ilia.”

She further handed him a brutal reality check, saying, “Personally, I never lost a single competition, while he finished eighth at the Olympics.”

Rodnina then drew the boundary, stating that Malinin has no individual Olympic golds, while she has them. “He is undoubtedly a leader by many criteria, but there’s a simple fact: he doesn’t have an individual Olympic medal. I don’t want to offend him, but how can you even compare him to me?” she said per the source.

Rodnina’s record does back up her claim in terms of dominance. She started her senior international competition around the age of 18 years old in about 1969, and since then has maintained an extended winning streak at international competitions. She never dropped a title during the World Championships 1969-1978, for 10 years straight. She never even lost at the Olympic level, earning three gold medals in three appearances: Sapporo 1972, Innsbruck 1976, and Lake Placid 1980.

But Ilia Malinin’s path is a bit different. Since 2023, he won almost every event. He even competed and won in big events such as Skate America, Grand Prix Final, Nationals and World Championships from 2023 to 2026. But when he was about to make the biggest impact in sports, that’s in the Olympics, he failed because of a few mistakes.

In Ilia Malinin’s debut at the Winter Olympics, he entered as a gold medal favourite, but mistakes in the free skate, including a failed quad Axel and two falls, pushed him down the standings. He finished 8th in the individual event. Seeing all this, Rodnina acknowledged his level but kept the comparison direct.

However, Ilia Malinin’s presence in the sport cannot be overlooked. It was in 2022 that he made it into the Guinness World Records when he landed a quadruple Axel. Soon after, in 2025, he again set a record by clearing 7 quadruple jumps in a single free skate program, something no one has ever done.

 While Irina Rodnina is not part of that group of voices supporting Ilia Malinin, many Olympic champions did stand by him after his Winter Olympics setback.

Olympic legends stood behind Ilia Malinin after the setback

After the tough defeat in the Winter Olympics, Ilia Malinin looked visibly shaken as he came off the ice. In the kiss and cry area, he was close to tears. He even said he was trying to process everything and later confessed on social media that, “I blew it.” But soon after, support came from several Olympic greats.

Scott Hamilton, the 1984 Olympic champion, wrote on X, “One performance should never define anyone. A good one or a disappointing one.” He further added, “Ilia Malinin is a class act and someone I greatly admire! As badly as I feel for him tonight, I know he will respond with strength, courage, and dignity. We all love you Ilia!”

Even gymnastics legend Simone Biles, who understands Olympic pressure better than most was seen applauding him in the arena.

Former speedskating star Apolo Ohno also praised Malinin’s, saying, “So much hype and the spotlight was bright. But tonight at the moment that mattered most: 8th place. His words: “It was definitely mental. That’s honesty and ownership. And it takes a hell of a lot of courage to say that than to make excuses.”

Just a month later, Ilia Malinin answered in a very different way.

Ilia Malinin returned to the World Championships in 2026 with a newfound sense of confidence. He started his short program with 111.29 points: he made all the clean jumps and added a triple axel. His “free skate” score was 218.11 with a program of great difficulty that contained several quads. Despite some minor errors, he maintained his place and came in with a score of 329.40 points to win the world title.