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Technically, figure skating keeps developing at high speed and it's highly likely more quadruple jumps will be performed at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 than at any other Olympic Winter Games. 

Most of the top Men nowadays include multiple quads into their programs – the maximum of two in the Short Program and three to four, maybe even five in the Free Skating. 

Two-time ISU World Champion Ilia Malinin (USA) is nicknamed “Quad God”, and lived up to his sobriquet by landing a record seven quads at the ISU Grand Prix Final last December.

'Quad God' Ilia Malinin practising his jumps off the ice during the ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo in April 2025 © ISU

He is also the first and so far only skater in the World to have successfully performed a quadruple Axel in competition. The quad Axel has half a rotation more that other jumps, so is in fact four and a half rotations, which it what makes it so difficult.

The quad Axel has not yet been completed successfully on Olympic ice, but Malinin’s Games debut could change all that.

Women make the leap

Four years ago at the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 the World saw the first women producing quads on Olympic ice as 2022 Olympic Champion Anna Shcherbakova (ROC) and silver medalist Alexandra Trusova (ROC) both landed them.

Alexandra Trusova (ROC) was one of two women to produce quad jumps at the 2022 Beijing Olympics © Getty Images

The variety of quads has increased significantly. At the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, all the performed quads were toeloops and Salchows. In PyeongChang 2018 and Beijing 2022, we saw skaters performing or attempting the other types of quads – Lutz, flip and loop. Two-time Olympic Champion Yuzuru Hanyu (JPN) went for the quad Axel in Beijing, but unsuccessfully. 

Of the women in Milan, currently only Adeliia Petrosian (AIN) might attempt a quad, as she has already landed various types of quad in competition. Sofia Samodelkina of Kazakhstan has performed quadruple jumps as a junior but not lately. 

Loops, Lutz, toes and throws

The toeloop was the first quadruple jump to be performed, with Canadian Kurt Browning’s quad toe at the 1988 ISU World Championships is the first officially ratified quad. Next came the Salchow by Timothy Goebel at the ISU Junior Series Final 1998. Miki Ando (JPN) became the first Woman to land a quadruple jump, the Salchow, at the 2002/03 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. 

The first quad Lutz, performed by Brandon Mroz, followed in 2011, while Shcherbakova and Trusova became the first women to land this jump in 2018.

Trusova is also the first woman to perform a quad toe at the 2018 ISU World Junior Championships and the quad flip at the ISU Junior Grand Prix Final 2019.

The first man to produce a quad flip is Shoma Uno (JPN), who accomplished the feat at the 2016 Team Challenge Cup. 

Shoma Uno (JON) was the first man to produce a quad flip, in 2016 © ISU

Hanyu is credited with the first ratified quad loop at the 2016 Autumn Classic, while Petrosian became the first woman to land a quad loop in competition at the Russian National Championships 2022.

Pair Skaters have performed quadruple throws. Marina Cherkasova & Sergei Shakhrai (URS) completed the very first quadruple twist at the 1977 ISU European Championships.

Tiffany Vise & Derek Trent (USA) were quad pioneers in the Pairs ranks © Getty Images

Tiffany Vise & Derek Trent (USA) received credit for the first quadruple throw Salchow at the 2007 Trophée Eric Bompard. Other quad throws have been attempted, but have not yet been cleanly landed in competition.