Figure skaters Ilia “Quad God” Malinin and Sarah Everhardt train to achieve their Olympic dreams at SkateQuest in Reston, Virginia, a suburb of Washington DC.

It’s also where the next generation of Olympic hopefuls are watching, learning, and being inspired by those they train with in the same rink.

On the eve of the men’s free skate final at the 2026 Winter Olympics, these kids talked about their own athletic hopes and dreams.

Video by Alex Foster; produced with Madeline Gerber