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Why Do the 2026 Olympic Medals Keep Breaking? The Truth—and The Solution
Ilia Malinin is still processing his loss at the 2026 Olympics.
During the men’s single skating competition at the Milano Cortina Winter Games Feb. 13, the figure skater—who was expected to take home the gold medal—came in eighth place after falling multiple times and botching several of his attempted jumps.
“I blew it,” Ilia admitted to NBC following the competition. “That's honestly the first thing that came to my mind was, ‘There's no way that just happened.’”
The 21-year-old—known as the “Quad God” for being the first and only skater to successfully land a fully rotated quadruple axel in an international competition—added that he was not expecting the outcome.
“I felt like going into this competition I was so ready,” he said. “I just felt ready getting on that ice. But I think maybe that might have been the reason—that maybe I was too confident that I was gonna go well.”
Ilia—son of Olympians Roman Skorniakov and Tatiana Malinina—chalked up the errors to his mental state as he stepped out onto the ice, despite the fact that he’d been preparing all season and felt confident in his program.
“Finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere—it’s crazy. It's not like any other competition,” he explained. “It's really different.”
Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images
“I’m still so grateful that I was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am,” he added. “But of course, that was not the skate that I wanted.”
For now, Ilia—who already won gold in the figure skating team event—shared he was still processing “what just happened” and, while he had “no words,” he is looking to the future.
“Obviously I should take the stuff that I learned from here and really just improve it,” he said, “or use it to my knowledge to see what I can do in the future for this to not happen.”
Sarah Stier/Getty Images
Ilia had entered the competition with a 5.09-point lead over second place, but lost 72 points due to his uncharacteristic mistakes including a single axel instead of a quadruple, a double loop instead of a quadruple as well as multiple falls and only a double salchow.
Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov ended up taking home the gold medal while Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama won silver and Japan’s Shun Sato skated away with bronze.
For a look at more unforgettable moments from the 2026 Olympics, keep reading.
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From One Olympian to Another
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Thinking of Home
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Scream and Shout
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All the Emotions
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Big Air
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With Him Always
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Twists and Turns
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Pierogi Power
Polish figure skater Ekaterina Kurakova holds up a plushie of a pierogi—widely considered to be Poland's national food—as she celebrates with her teammates during the women's single skating short program.
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Double Trouble
Selina Egle and Lara Michaela Kipp of Austria zoom by during the luge women's doubles.
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Say Cheese!
The winners of the figure skating team event snap a selfie with the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip7 Olympic Edition while on the podium.
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Never Give Up
U.S. skier Lindsey Vonn looks determined as she attends a training session days after rupturing her ACL in a crash.
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Ice to See You
Alysa Liu of United States performs the Biellmann spin during the women's single skating short program event.
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So Close
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Snoop Dogg, serving as an Olympics correspondent for NBC, tries his hand at curling at a practice.
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In Sync
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On the B-rink of History
Laila Edwards, the first Black woman representing the U.S. in Olympic hockey, faces off against Czech player Sara Cajanova during the United States vs. Czech Republic game.
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Friendship Knows No Borders
Australian snowboarder Valentino Guseli shares a hug with Team Czechia's Jakub Hrones during the men's snowboard big air qualifiers.
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Photo Finish
Bulgarian ski jumper Vladimir Zografski hits the brakes during a training session.
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Swept Away With Joy
American curler Korey Dropkin lets out a victorious shout after his team defeats Switzerland in a mixed doubles round bobin match.
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