The quad god’s first Olympics may be over, but he made quite the (high fashion) statement with his final skate at the global event.
At Saturday’s figure skating exhibition gala, Ilya Marinin wore an outfit that would probably have been more comfortable off the ice.
The 21-year-old looked like he was strolling on the ice in street clothes, opting for trompe l’oeil black and white jeans and a gray sweatshirt.
The jeans in question are actually runway-ready Balmain jeans ($1,290). He paired it with a dark gray NF hoodie ($90) that says “Fear” in upside-down letters across the chest.
Fittingly, the song he skated to was NF’s “Fear,” during which he delivered a powerful skate that reflected his struggles with mental health and the pressure he feels from fans and critics alike.
“We’re planning something pretty special,” he told NBC ahead of the celebration. “And I think…I hope I can bring a lot of emotion and energy to the rink,” he concluded.
Although he didn’t attempt a quadruple axel (the move that earned him the nickname “Quad God”) in his final performance on Olympic ice, he did pull off one of his signature backflips.
In fact, this was one of only two backflips he completed during the event, and he also flew through the air between his teammates in the group skate.
Marinin skated both the men’s short program and free program to win the gold medal for the U.S. Figure Skating Team Medal.
However, he was unable to win a medal in the men’s singles, where he was expected to win.
“I think it was definitely a mental thing,” he said in an interview with NBC after the event, adding, “It’s unlike any other competition.”
At a subsequent press conference, he further explained, “I think only people can understand the pressure on the nerves that actually occurs from within, so I just felt really overwhelmed and felt like I couldn’t control it.”
