Meet Ilia Malinin’s Sister! All About Fellow Figure Skater Elli Beatrice Malinina

Like her brother, Ilia Malinin’s sister is also a nationally ranked figure skater

Ilia Malinin on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on February 08, 2026 in Milan, Italy ; Ilia Malinin and his sister Elli in June 2025.

Ilia Malinin’s sister, Elli Beatrice Malinina, is carving out her own path on the ice

After welcoming their son in December 2004, retired Uzbekistan Olympic figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov went on to have a daughter. The Russian-born couple, who retired from competition in 2002 and became coaches, didn’t plan for their children to follow in their footsteps. But regular days spent at the rink made it inevitable.

“They went through all those years of hard work, dedication, commitment to get to where they were, two-time Olympians … So, they were like, ‘Oh, we don’t want another skater in our family,’ ” the gold medalist told CBS News in February 2026. “But here I am. Me and my sister skate now. So it’s like, okay!”

Though still early in her figure skating career, Elli — who also goes by the nickname Liza, per NBC Sports — is a nationally ranked junior skater with a bright future on the rink.

Here’s everything to know about Ilia Malinin’s sister, Elli Beatrice Malinina.

Elli is from Virginia 

Like her brother, Elli was raised in Virginia, per NBC. Her parents relocated to the United States the summer after the 1998 Winter Olympics and got married in 2000.

“I like America very much,” Tatiana told Golden Skate in March 2002. “It was difficult to come to America, but easy to stay.”

Both siblings took their mother’s maiden name, though Ilia’s is in the traditional Russian masculine form. His parents were concerned that his father’s last name — Skorniakov — would be hard for his young schoolmates to pronounce.

Her parents are Olympic figure skaters

Elli and her brother both seem to have inherited their skating talents from their parents. Their mother was a Four Continents Championship winner who competed in two Olympic Games for Uzbekistan before retiring after the 2002 Olympics, after she withdrew with the flu, according to NBC.

Their father also represented the country at the 1998 and 2002 Winter Olympics and retired the same year. Though the couple are from Russia, they skated for Uzbekistan.

She’s a nationally ranked junior skater 

Elli is working her way up to Olympic status as a nationally ranked junior skater. According to Skater-Stats, she’s been in 17 competitions and is a part of the Washington Figure Skating Club.

The Olympic gold medalist told NBC Sports in March 2022 that his younger sister is a much better skater than he was at her age.

Ilia joked about trying to coach her

In an April 2025 interview with retired Olympic figure skater Gracie Gold, the history-making figure skater said that he attempts to mentor his sister — who is 10 years his junior — in their shared sport, but she isn’t always receptive.

“I try to [coach her],” Ilia joked, “keyword ‘try.’ ”