Ilia Malinin is soon heading back to the U.S. with an Olympic gold medal, a ton of new lessons and friends from around the world — but before he boards the plane, the figure skater has an unexpected goal in mind.
While talking with PEOPLE for an interview on Wednesday, Feb. 18, the 21-year-old at first said he plans to spend his last few days in Milan just “enjoying the Olympic experience.” But then he thought of another idea.
“A cat cafe would be fun,” Malinin said, his eyes lighting up. “I’m really missing my cats right now, so I would love to go to a cat cafe.”
The Olympic gold medalist is a cat dad of two, and they’re waiting for him back at home in Vienna, Va.
“I have a cat named Mysti and a cat named Miu Miu,” he said. “Mysti is a black cat while Miu Miu is a white cat. And they’re very cuddly. They’re like one of my new therapy, new therapeutic animals. I’m excited to go home to see them again.”
In between hanging at the Olympic village and (hopefully) going to a cat cafe, Malinin will have one more go on Olympic ice in 2026. He will skate in the figure skating Exhibition Gala on Saturday, which occurs every Winter Olympics at the end of competition and features the top stars. Malinin confirmed to PEOPLE that he’ll be performing, and shared his excitement for it.
“It’s honestly just a nice thing,” he said. “Skating in galas is different from competitions because the environment is different and the goal of the skate itself is completely different. … In the gala, it’s really just free emotions and can really show whatever you want and anything you want. So that’s why I really enjoy more like show skating instead of, you know, competitive.”
Malinin also gave a hint as to the theme of his performance.
“It’s a pretty big concept and a topic that I really wanna give a concept of, that mental health really just matters for everyone and especially us as athletes,” he said. “We get into a lot of pressure, a lot of attention, you know, the media’s always on us. Cameras, people, noise; you know, positive, negative stuff.”
“There’s so many things that people don’t see,” he continued. “It’s, you know, not a pleasant feeling to deal with all of these things, but it’s what makes us human. It’s what makes us really strong and brave and I think that’s the message I want to give out for this performance.”
