The 2026 Milan Winter Olympics began in full swing three days ago. Among the bright faces highly touted for gold this year is American figure skater Ilia Malinin. He enters Italy as a two-time reigning world champion and a four-time U.S. national champion. The benchmark he has set is difficult to surpass. And it was only expected, given that he had years of practice under the guidance of his parents.

Malinin remains the first and only skater to successfully land the quadruple Axel. It is a 4.5-rotation jump, long considered physically demanding and nearly impossible in international competition. But for Malinin, it’s easy. He is also the only athlete to have landed all six types of quadruple jumps at the 2025 Grand Prix Final. Now, after all these achievements, don’t you want to know about his pillars of support?

Who is Ilia Malinin’s father, Roman Skorniakov?

The sport is clearly in his genes. Malinin’s father is Roman Skorniakov, who represented Uzbekistan in international competitions as a figure skater and is currently one of Ilia’s primary coaches.

As a two-time olympian Roman has competed in the 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, finishing 19th in both competitions. Apart from this, he is also a seven-time Uzbek national champion, winning back-to-back titles from 1997 to 2003. However, Roman Skorniakov isn’t the only parent who is also a coach.

Who is Ilia Malinin’s mother, Tatiana Malinina?

Apart from being his mother, Tatiana Malinina has also been one of Ilia’s coaches, alongside his father, since he was six years old. A figure skater herself, Tatiana understands the demands of the sport. She brought home the first gold for Uzbekistan at the 1999 Grand Prix Final.

Before that, she snagged another gold as an inaugural champion in the Four Continents Tournament. After 10 years of being in the competitive zone, Malinina retired from competitive skating in 2002 to start a family and has since worked as a coach at the SkateQuest facility in Northern Virginia. She is the primary catalyst in teaching Ilia how to master his revolutionary quadruple jumps.

Does Ilia Malinin have siblings?

Ilia Malinin isn’t the only son who is out on this journey of building a figure skating legacy. Malinin also has a younger sister named Elli Beatrice Malinina. Let’s refer to her as Liza because that’s her nickname. As of early 2026, Liza is approximately 10 to 11 years old.

And just like him, Liza is carrying the family tradition as a figure skater. In November 2024, she competed in the Juvenile Girls division at the U.S. Eastern Sectional Singles Final, where she placed 17th.

What are Ilia Malinin’s parents’ ethnicity and nationality?

Ilia’s parents hold Russian ethnicity but are American nationals. Both were born in the Russian SFSR (Soviet Union): Tatiana in Novosibirsk and Roman in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg).

During their competitive careers, both these people represented Uzbekistan for obvious reasons. Since the Soviet Union’s dissolution, the Russian team has been very crowded. So instead of waiting in line, the couple thought of being in a team that held more opportunities.

After moving to the United States in 1998, they settled in Virginia and became U.S. citizens. They have lived and coached in the U.S. for over 25 years. So basically, both Ilia and Liza are a blend of both cultures.  

How has Ilia Malinin’s family supported his career?

Both Tatiana and Roman were Ilia’s coaches from the time he was six years old. So if this doesn’t prove their support, what else would? Under both of them, Malinin trains for 4-6 hours a day at their home rink in Northern Virginia. They planned everything for their son, even his surname.

They chose for him to use the masculine version of his mother’s surname (Malinin) because they believed his father’s surname (Skorniakov) would be too difficult for international judges and audiences to pronounce.

Then they don’t shy away from bringing some expert advice along with their tutoring. Like back in 2021, the parents got together with jump expert Rafael Arutyunyan to break his technical ceiling. However, all this happened a bit later.

It’s because they knew the physical and psychological toll of elite skating. They initially discouraged him from the sport, wanting him to have a “different life.” However, they soon got on board.