Ilia Malinin opened up about a part of skating that often goes unnoticed. While fans focus on difficulty and scores, he pointed to something else that shapes performance just as much. For him, the real challenge is not always about technique or strength, but how the mind reacts in certain moments on the ice.
The Olympic gold medalist spoke about how some elements feel unfamiliar in a way that makes them harder to attempt. Even for someone pushing the limits of the sport, that hesitation can take time to overcome.
Ilia Malinin Discusses the Mental Hurdles Behind Figure Skating’s Most Unfamiliar Skill
Ilia Malinin brought one of skating’s most talked about elements back into the spotlight with the backflip. The move has always stood out because it goes against what skaters are usually trained to do, making it feel unusual even for elite athletes.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, he surprised many by successfully landing the backflip during the team event, helping secure a gold medal for the United States. It quickly became a major talking point among fans and within the skating community.
Speaking later in an interview with “Hello!” magazine, Malinin shared what makes the backflip so different. He explained how it is less about difficulty on paper and more about dealing with the fear that comes with it.
Malinin didn’t just focus on the physical side of the backflip when he spoke about it. Instead, he pointed to the hesitation that comes before even attempting the move, something that is not often visible during performances but plays a big role behind the scenes.
He explained that while skaters regularly train for highly complex jumps, this particular element feels different because it breaks familiar patterns. That shift, he said, is what makes it stand out and harder to approach mentally.
“It’s really just more a mental game. That’s how tricky it is for us. We do things so much more difficult, so much harder than the backflip, but just that fear factor of going upside down, which skaters are not really used to doing. That’s why it’s a little more scary it might be harder for some people when it’s really just, you need to get over that,” he said.
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The American drew a clear comparison between two very different challenges on the ice. He brought up the quad Axel to highlight what skaters usually measure as difficulty in the sport.
He then explained why, despite that, the backflip felt harder for him, pointing to the fear and hesitation that took much longer to overcome.
“So for me for example, it took me a few months, then the quad Axel, and in MY mind, it’s like, ‘I’m one of the only people in the world to do it successfully.’ So, just to compare that to a backflip, it took me a year to get over the fear of actually going for it,” he added.
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Malinin is expected to use the offseason to reset after a long and demanding year. He still has a few ice shows lined up, but his focus will shift toward recovery and finding balance away from competition.
