Ilia Malinin “parents plane crash” rumor: the mix-up driving false claims online

Rumors claiming Ilia Malinin’s parents died in a plane crash have spread rapidly during the 2026 Winter Olympics spotlight, but the claim isn’t supported by major reporting or by publicly available biographical information. Malinin’s parents—Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov—are alive and remain closely involved in his career as longtime coaches and mentors.

The confusion appears to be linked to a different U.S. figure skater whose family tragedy has been widely covered: Maxim Naumov, whose parents died in a plane crash in 2025. As Olympic interest surges and name recognition spikes, the two stories have been repeatedly conflated online.

What’s actually true about Malinin’s family

Malinin is a 21-year-old American men’s singles skater from Northern Virginia. He has frequently spoken about being raised in a skating family and training under coaches who know him intimately—because they’re also his parents.

Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov competed internationally as skaters before later coaching in the United States. They have appeared in athlete profiles, training coverage, and behind-the-scenes Olympic stories connected to Malinin’s rise. None of that coverage indicates a family bereavement of the kind described in the rumor. The “plane crash” claim is inconsistent with the public record.

Whose tragedy is being confused with Malinin’s

The plane-crash tragedy tied to U.S. figure skating that has been covered prominently is connected to Maxim Naumov, not Ilia Malinin.

Naumov’s parents—Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, both celebrated pairs skaters and coaches—died in a plane crash in January 2025. In the lead-up to the 2026 Games, Naumov’s Olympic journey has been framed through that loss, including how he leaned on mentors and the skating community while returning to training and competition.

As Olympic chatter accelerates, posts about Naumov’s story have sometimes been paired with Malinin’s name or photos, and the false narrative then spreads through reposts and short-form clips.

Why this specific rumor spreads so easily during the Olympics

This kind of mix-up has a predictable pattern during major events:

• A real tragedy is widely discussed, then detached from the correct person.

• A more famous or more searched name absorbs the claim through miscaptioned clips or screenshots.

• Reposts repeat the error until it looks “confirmed” simply due to repetition.

Figure skating is especially vulnerable to this because multiple athletes’ stories circulate at once—team event coverage, individual previews, and human-interest features—often with similar visual language (rink footage, family shots, coaches at the boards).

How to spot the difference between Malinin and Naumov in coverage

Even when posts are vague, the two athletes are usually distinguishable by basic context:

• Discipline: Malinin is a men’s singles skater; Naumov is also men’s singles, but coverage around him often centers on the loss of two coach-parents.

• Parents’ names: Malinin’s parents are Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov; Naumov’s parents were Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov.

• Story framing: Malinin coverage typically emphasizes technical innovation and competitive dominance; Naumov coverage often emphasizes resilience and grief.

If a post can’t name the parents accurately, it’s a red flag that it may be recycling a claim rather than reflecting verified detail.

What to take away

There is a real family tragedy story connected to U.S. figure skating—and it deserves careful handling. But attaching it to the wrong athlete doesn’t just spread misinformation; it also warps how audiences understand both skaters’ lives.

For Malinin, the accurate picture remains straightforward: he is supported by living parents who have been active in his training and career. For Naumov, the accurate picture remains heartbreaking: his parents’ deaths are a central part of his story entering the Olympics, and coverage has treated it as such.

Sources consulted: Reuters, Olympics.com, TIME, Encyclopaedia Britannica