Feb. 10, 2026, 9:35 a.m. ET
Ilia Malinin — AKA the Quad God — has already won a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics with Team USA, but as he’s going for more, you may not know that he has quite the good luck charm: A certain pair of skate laces.
As reports noted from Milan Cortina last week, Malinin revealed that he was gifted a pair of yellow laces from Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin. Given that Malinin is from nearby Fairfax, Virginia, there’s a connection there.
So if you see those yellow laces as he competes for another medal and more Olympic glory, you’ll know why.
Super cool.