Ilia Malinin is in first place in men's figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics after scoring 108.16 in the short program on Tuesday in Milano Ice Skating Arena in Assago, Italy.

Ilia Malinin reclaimed momentum to lead the Olympic men’s short program, steadying the ice as Americans Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov delivered breakout, emotional debuts to advance to the free skate.

Despite a slip early in his free skate, Malinin landed five quads and a backflip to record a score of 200, enough to seal Team USA’s repeat gold medal in the team event. Now, Malinin will begin his quest for a first individual Olympic medal, and being unbeaten in his past 14 full competitions, he is still the favorite for gold.

Ilia Malinin's quest for individual gold begins on Tuesday. The 21-year-old American has been the best male figure skater in the world throughout this Olympic cycle. Now he gets the chance to cap it off with a gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

MILAN — Ilia Malinin playfully threw a couple of jabs at a TV camera while skating off the ice Tuesday night, the pressure of his first Olympics having seemingly vanished following a team gold medal and a near-perfect short program to begin the men's competition.

The men's figure skating event kicks off at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympic Games on Tuesday at 12:15 p.m. ET. Reigning world champion U.S. phenom Ilia Malinin headlines in search of individual gold.

Ilia Malinin of the United States performs his routine during the Figure Skating, Men's Single Skating, Short Program at the Milano Ice Skating Arena at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, on February 10, 2026. Credit - Tim Clayton—Getty Images

Ilia Malinin is beginning his quest for men's singles gold with the short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Follow the action.