Ilia Malinin begins his quest for Olympic gold in the men's singles figure skating competition beginning with the short program on Tuesday, Feb. 10.

Ilia Malinin took the ice Sunday night knowing the gold medal in team figure skating rested on his shoulders, the U.S. tied with Japan with only the men’s free skate still to come.

It has taken Malinin only a few years to modernize the sport with dangerous elements no one else can perform — including the quadruple axel, a jump that involves incredible speed and power because the...