Ilia Malinin reveals what went wrong in Olympics figure skating heartbreak

Ilia Malinin didn't look like himself.

The United States figure skating superstar had never struggled as much in a free skate program as he did on Friday night as he contended for a gold medal.

In the end, a fall-filled routine didn't just cost him the gold medal that many viewed as inevitable. It cost him a spot on the podium altogether.

Malinin was clearly crushed.

"I was not expecting that," Malinin told NBC after the competition. "I felt like going into this competition I was so ready. I felt ready getting on that ice. I think maybe I was too confident it was gonna go well. It happened. I can't process what just happened. It happens."

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He finished eighth.

NBC commentator Tara Lipinski only had one word: "Heartbreaking."

"This one performance will never diminish what Ilia Malinin has done for our sport," added NBC's Johnny Weir.

Malinin had put up the best short program score of these Games. And then his closest competitors had falls of their own in the free skate.

He was last up. He just needed a decent run, not a perfect one.

He planned to do seven quads. But multiple times, he couldn't get his full spinning done. And multiple times, he fell.

"I think it was definitely mental," Malinin said. "That Olympic atmosphere is crazy. It's not like any other competition."

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Malinin, only 21, will almost certainly be back.

He will have all the motivation he could ever need.

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