Gold medalist Ilia Malinin gives his medal to one of his fluffiest fans, Mysti; reveals that he's just a normal cat dad like the rest of us who is obsessed with his pets

Olympians may seem like next-level humans due to their superior athletic abilities, but figure skater (and gold medalist) Ilia Malinin just showed us that they're all normal pet pawrents like you and me.

When you see someone skating in front of millions of people on a world stage, it's easy to distinguish the differences between you and them. With purrfect ease, they jump, land, and spin in the air faster than the hooman eye can see without even breaking a sweat. They purrform acts that distinguish them as, quite literally, the best in the world. These people then go on to be in commercials, purrhaps even star in a movie, and they become celebrities. But despite all that fame, one thing doesn't change - their love for their pets. In purrticular, we're talking about gold medalist Olympian Ilia Malinin, who recently posted online about his love for his two cats, Mysti and Miu Miu, one of which got a purrfectly adorable photoshoot with their very own gold medal!

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via Cats We Love
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via bloginvoga
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via Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Ilia Malinin of the United States of America
Ilia joins the ranks of famous celebrities now who are just like us, cat people who are obsessed with their fluffy felines. Taylor Swift (singer/songwriter), Lupita Nyong’o (actress in Black Panther), Drew Barrymore (actress/producer), Jennifer Garner (actress), and Anya Taylor-Joy (actress from The Queen's Gambit), among many more! We can't verify this firsthand, but we can tell you that their phone storage is probably 95% full of cute pics of their cats, just like ours is!
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via James Lang-Imagn Images

Ilia Malinin of the United States of America
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"Ilia’s cat wearing a gold medal is content we LOVE"

via @Ilia_quadg0d_malinin, @NBCSports

Mysti, Ilia Malinin's cat wearing a fake gold medal
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via @peta
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via @TheIliaSociety

Ilia and his cats, Mysti and Miu Miu
Like a father holding his two baby girls, Ilia clearly loves to cuddle with his furbulously fluffy felines. And who wouldn't? Mysti and Miu Miu look purrfectly snuggly and comfy! After a long day of skating and training, we hope they give his tired legs lots of biscuits to help him recover and feel better for the next day. That is, of course, after he feeds them. We all know nothing good happens unless you feed your cats first.
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via @TCus2408
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via @EmpressTiff2017
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via @Seee_lallero
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via @CaseyBinghamTX
We all know that his cats think they are 100% responsible for his success. Where would he be without their constant attention, reminders for food, and snuggles? Probably nowhere.
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via quint.queen

Ilia and Mysti
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via @ht_thomp
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via Elsa on Getty Images

Ilia Malinin at the 2026 Olympics
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via @SweetAmy614
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via Tim Clayton on Getty Images

Ilia Malinin in the 2026 Olympics