“Next up…Ilia Malinin,” all eyes are now focused and consumed by the man, known as the “Quad God,” on the ice.
Moments before, Alysa Liu’s electrifying performance energized the audience. Now, there is stillness and silence.
Suddenly, the tension is broken by the sharp slice of Malinin’s blade as he skates one of the best men’s free skates in Olympic history.
The most recent 2026 Winter Olympics was streamed on Live TV, Peacock, NBC, Hulu and CNBC, containing multiple different athletes and events from February 6 to February 22. A widely-known event in the Winter Olympics is figure skating, which contains many different individual and team events. Many viewers of the Winter Olympics anticipate the figure skating events, but are unknowledgeable of the precision, artistry and intensity of the skating performance.
Ilia Malinin, also known as the “Quad God,” delivered a performance which secured the gold for him and team USA during the men’s free skate event. Some viewers had doubts about Malinin’s capability to win the gold for him and his team due to him falling twice during this performance.
This placed him eighth overall in men’s skating. However, he still had the chance to use his seamless transitions, explosive jumps and radiating confidence to acquire more than enough points for him to secure the gold for the USA. Many viewers, such as senior Brandi Missouri, were impressed by his freestyle; his quad jumps and his landing of a backflip on the ice hadn’t been done since it was banned 47 years ago.
“The quad jumps were insanely impressive,” Missouri said. “One wouldn’t even be able to tell he struggled with the performance before because this is the performance they will remember.”
Alysa Liu is another skater with strong performance. Liu is the youngest United States figure skating national champion in history, winning gold at the age of 13 in 2019. Eventually, the pressure became too much for her, so she quit, hoping she would never touch the ice again. Now, in 2026, she’s on the ice competing again, but this time, for fun. She is also the first female skater to land a quadruple jump in international competitions.
Viewers like senior Jillian Lambdin agree that they liked her style of figure skating because of the upbeat music she used, the dancing style on the ice and the fun she’s visibly having on the ice. Her energetic and more dancing style shocked several viewers especially when she slid on her knees during her free skate. A lot of viewers, like Natalia Suarez (hercampus.com), claim that she is the beginning of the healing of the Olympics, making everything not so much about competing, but showing what one can do.
“The more dancing and upbeat style she used, the more entertaining and enjoyable her performance was to watch than others,” Lambdin said. “The spins with the sudden turn changes, and all the jumps were insanely impressive; she makes it look easy.”
These two figure skaters are both incredible in different ways through the sport. Malinin is known for pushing the technical and insane precision limits, while Liu brings a refreshing amount of joy. Together, they show that figure skating is not defined by just one style or goal, and can bring bliss to not only the watchers, but athletes as well.
