Olympic team event champion and three-time and reigning World champion Ilia Malinin is the 2025–26 SKATING magazine Readers' Choice Award (Michelle Kwan Trophy) winner.

Skating fans from coast to coast rewarded the Virginia native for his monumental season in an online vote that ran from July 13–20 on the U.S. Figure Skating website. A total of 6,131 votes were cast. Fans voted for the eligible skater or team they believed was most deserving of the honor based on the accomplishments from the past season.

Olympic champion Alysa Liu placed second in the voting, with three-time and reigning U.S. champion Amber Glenn finishing third.

"I'm so honored fans voted for me to win this Readers' Choice award," Malinin said. "It's such a privilege to skate for so many amazing fans all over the world. I'm so glad that they were able to connect with my skating and what I stand for, on and off the ice. I'm looking forward to keeping that going in the 2026-27 season." 

Malinin, who won the 2023-24 Readers' Choice Award, kicked off his 2025-26 campaign with victories at Grand Prix Series events (Skate Canada International and Grand Prix de France). He capped the Grand Prix campaign by securing the Grand Prix Final title for the third consecutive time.

From there, Malinin earned his fourth consecutive U.S. title in St. Louis. At the Olympic Games in Italy, Malinin helped Team USA repeat at the team event champions with two superb performances. After a disappointing individual free skate at the Olympics, Malinin responded in epic fashion by claiming his third consecutive World title, winning by nearly 23 points.

Malinin will receive the Michelle Kwan Trophy at the 2027 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Utah. This award was launched in 1989, with Kristi Yamaguchi being the first honoree.