Meet Ilia Malinin's Parents—The US Figure Skater's Mom & Dad Are Winter Olympics Alums
Competing in the Winter Olympics is more than just a dream for Ilia Malinin — it’s a family tradition. His parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, are both former Olympic figure skaters as well, which proves the self-proclaimed “Quad God” has some good genes!
For a quick refresher on this Winter Olympian, Malinin is an American figure skater and the only skater (male or female) to have successfully landed the quadruple Axel in competition. His famous parents put him in skating at age 6, and they currently coach him. The 21-year-old went viral after his performance Sunday night, including a backflip on the ice that he landed on one skate, which helped Team USA win a gold medal in the team figure skating competition, per Yahoo. He’s also expected to medal in Friday’s single competition.
He likely wouldn’t be anywhere near where he is today without the support and help of his experienced skater parents. Let’s look back at the lives and careers of his parents to learn more about Malinin’s heritage.
Who Are Ilia Malinin’s Parents?
Ilia Malinin’s parents are Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov. The Russian-born athletes both competed for Uzbekistan at the 1998 Nagano and 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.
Ilia Malinin’s Mom Competed at the 1998 & 2002 Winter Olympics
Malinina was born in Novosibirsk, according to her International Skating Union bio, and became the first Four Continents Champion after winning the gold at the inaugural event in Feb. 1999. She was the first skater representing Uzbekistan to medal in an ISU Championship and the ISU Grand Prix. She finished eighth at the 1998 Winter Olympics and competed in the short program at the 2002 Winter Olympics but had to withdraw after due to getting sick with the flu. She retired the same year.
Interestingly enough, Malinina also comes from athletic parents: her father is a former figure skater and ice dancer-turned-coach, and her mother was a gymnast.
Malinin’s Dad Is Also a Former Olympian
Skorniakov was born in Sverdlovsk and ranked 19th in the Men’s event at both the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympic Games, according to his ISU bio. He retired in 2003. Skorniakov and Malinina trained under the same coach, Igor Ksenofontov, who died in 2000. Since then, they mostly coached each other.
Malinina & Skorniakov Married in 2000
In between the two Olympic games, Malinina and Skorniakov got married in Jan. 2000.
In addition to Ilia, Malinina and Skorniakov also have a daughter named Elli Beatrice. According to NBC Sports, the 11-year-old recently performed in the juvenile girls free skate division in the 2025 U.S. Eastern Sectionals, where she placed 17th.
They Didn’t Want Their Son to Skate
In a March 2022 interview with NBC Sports, Malinina said, “At the beginning, we didn’t take it seriously. We just took him to where we were working, and he was skating there.”
Malinin said he originally wanted to play a different sport. “I thought I was going to be a soccer player, but my parents didn’t have time to take me to soccer lessons — so skating kind of took over,” he told People in a Jan. 18 interview. He added that he landed his first quad jump at age 13, which is when his parents “realized I was surprisingly good.”
In a Feb. 1 interview with CBS News, Malinin surprisingly revealed that his parents weren’t keen on him following in their footsteps at first. “They did not want me to skate at all,” he said. “They wanted me to do something else, ’cause they know. They went through all those years of hard work, dedication, commitment to get to where they were, two-time Olympians. And now they coach skating. So, they were like, ‘Oh, we don’t want another skater in our family.’ But here I am. Me and my sister skate now. So it’s like, okay!”
Malinin’s Parents Are His Coaches & Biggest Supporters
Now, Malinina and Skorniakov are their son’s biggest support system and part of his coaching team, along with U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer Rafael Arutyunyan.
“It’s really nice to have them… [they’ve] helped get me the mentality of starting to try to become a good athlete,” Ilia said of parents in a March 2022 interview with Olympics.com. “[Most people] don’t really see Olympians every day. They’re my parents and coaches, so it’s kind of a plus because they know what you feel, how you feel and they can relate to you more. It definitely helps my progression and our connection.”
“My parents are the main coaches. I’d probably say my mom is the main coach because she’s a lot more strict than me and it makes sense, you know… mothers are kind of strict on their children,” he added. “So I mean, I guess it’s just a family thing. Having my parents as coaches helps with everything because you feel more comfortable around them. And again, like I said, it’s easy to relate [to them] and easy for them to see how I feel about everything.”