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Ilia Malinin Dating Buzz Puts Fellow Olympic Skater Hae-in Lee in Spotlight

It seems that Team USA men's figure skater Ilia Malinin is leaving the Olympics with more than just a medal.
Grant Young|
Ilia Malinin of Team USA
Ilia Malinin of Team USA | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

Team USA male figure skater Ilia Malinin has been in the spotlight over the past few weeks, given his time spent competing in the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

The 21-year-old Malinin (who is perhaps better known as the "Quad God") put the USA on his back during the team figure skating event, producing a spectacular performance to secure a gold medal. He produced five of his patented quadruple jumps (hence the nickname) to score a 200.03 and win gold over Japan.

ILIA MALININ of Team USA celebrates winning the gold medal
ILIA MALININ of Team USA celebrates winning the gold medal | IMAGO / ZUMA Press Wire

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Unfortunately, Malinin didn't see the same success in the men's single free program event.

He took eighth place after suffering two falls during this individual event, despite being the favorite to win Olympic gold.

Ilia Malinin of the United States
Ilia Malinin of the United States | James Lang-Imagn Images

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Ilia Malinin, Hae-in Lee Dating Rumors Soar After Social Media Comments

However, while he didn't get a second gold medal, it seems that Malinin might be leaving the Olympics with something else.

Social media has noticed that Malinin and South Korean women's figure skater Hae-in Lee (who, like Malinin, placed eighth overall in the women's singles freestyle program in Italy) have been commenting on each other's social media posts.

RELATED: Ilia Malinin’s Powerful Post Gives Insight Into Olympic Failure, Teases What’s Next

There are also videos of the two spending time together at the Olympic Village, which is making for more speculation.

Who is Hae-in Lee?

Lee is a 20-year-old South Korean figure skater who was expected to contend for a medal at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games.

It will be interesting to see whether Malinin and Lee speak more openly about each other in the weeks after these Olympics come to a close, or whether this chatter will remain merely speculation.

Hae-in Lee of Team Korea Republic of Korea performs
Hae-in Lee of Team Korea Republic of Korea performs | IMAGO / ABACAPRESS

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers the Athlete Lifestyle, Women’s Basketball, the New York Mets, the Baltimore Orioles, the Chicago Cubs, and boxing for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years.

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