Olympic Figure Skater Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” Says He “Broke Physics.” Did He?
BU physics professor weighs in, saying Malinin is “certainly pushing the envelope of human performance”
Known for performing jumps that no one else can land, American figure skater Ilia Malinin is one to watch during his Olympic debut at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter games. Photo via AP Photo/The Yomiuri Shimbun/Tetsu Joko
Olympic Figure Skater Ilia Malinin, the “Quad God,” Says He “Broke Physics.” Did He?
BU physics professor weighs in, saying Malinin is “certainly pushing the envelope of human performance”
As the 2026 Winter Olympic Games get underway in Italy, an American figure skating phenom is already heating up the ice and helping Team USA bring home a gold medal. Known for performing jumps that no one else can land—and few even attempt—Ilia Malinin is earning his self-styled nickname (“the Quad God”) during his Olympic debut this year.
Like Simone Biles or Michael Phelps before him, Malinin is quickly distinguishing himself as one of one. In December, while refining his routine for his first Olympic Games, the 21-year-old figure skater landed seven quadruple jumps in competition. No other competitor landed more than four, The Atlantic reports.
Malinin’s performances appear to defy gravity. His routines are filled with dizzying combinations of jumps and spins and flips, each of which he lands so gracefully that he seems to float over the ice. You can almost forget he’s doing all this on a pair of knife blades.
Malinin’s performances are so commanding, and his skill so great, that he’s taken to telling reporters he “broke physics.”
Could it be?
“Of course not,” says Ed Kearns, a College of Arts & Sciences professor of physics. “He’s certainly pushing the envelope of human performance, though.”
Kearns actually uses figure skating examples in his courses to teach new students some of physics’ fundamental premises. Using known quantities, such as the skater’s height, weight, time in the air, and number of rotations, Kearns’ students can discern a lot of information.
In Malinin’s case, his website indicates he’s 5 foot 8 and 140 pounds. His signature move is a quadruple axel, a jump that requires the skater to take off facing forward, rotate four and a half times midair, then execute a blind backward landing on the opposite foot. Malinin achieves all this with just 0.79 seconds in the air.
This means he’s rotating at 340 rotations per minute (RPM) or “about 10 times faster than an old-fashioned record on a record player,” Kearns says.
In order to spin that fast, Malinin folds his arms across his chest, making his body as small as possible. How much strength does it take to resist the forces working to pull Malinin’s arms out wide? By Kearns’ calculations, it’s about 200 pounds per arm.
“Imagine doing bicep curls in the gym. Now imagine doing them with 200-pound dumbbells. Even though Ilia only has to resist for less than a second, that’s what we’re talking about here,” Kearns says.
Malinin’s acrobatics might be all the more impressive because he’s doing them within the strict confines of physics. “The more remarkable thing is that he’s able to do these jumps and then land gracefully, without his arms flapping around or something,” Kearns says.
Whether Malinin will indeed be crowned the Quad God at this year’s Olympics remains to be seen. In the meantime, he’s already teasing his next feat: a quint.