Ilia Malinin gave his first Olympic gold medal to his cat after U.S. figure skating team win

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Ilia Malinin gave his first Olympic gold medal to his cat after U.S. figure skating team win originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

Ilia Malinin is hoping to add another gold medal to his collection at these 2026 Winter Olympics.

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But the first gold for the U.S. figure skating superstar, at least temporarily, went to Malinin's cat.

Malinin was part of the gold medalist United States in the team event, coming through in the clutch in his free skate to clinch first place.

Then he shared on social media that he had allowed his cat to rock the gold medal:

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Mysti certainly earned that medal. She's surely been a great supporter of Malinin's figure skating career.

The adorable cat will also be rooting for Malinin to add to their collection.

Beginning Tuesday, he'll perform his short program en route to what he hopes is a men's individual goal medal, as well.

Malinin entered these Games as the favorite to win that gold, and that hasn't changed much since he arrived.

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He actually only placed second in the team event version of the short program, which proved he can be beaten. But that was his first loss in more than two years, so it doesn't happen often.

Malinin, and his cat Mysti, have a lot of work still to do. They're trying to prove that they are indeed the best.

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