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Upon reflection, Ilia Malinin admits he was unprepared for the 2026 Olympics.
Not in a technical sense or regarding skill, but the “Quad God” was not ready to handle the pressure of his growing popularity heading into the Olympics.
The 21-year-old came to Italy has the heavy favorite to win gold in the men’s figure skating individual event after dominating the field internationally over the years leading up to the Milan Games. However, after a disaster free skate performance, in which he fell twice, he lost 72 points and placed eighth.
“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling. The most honest way to say it is it’s just a lot of on you, just so many eyes, so much attention,” Malinin said said on “Today” on Tuesday. “It really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it, so I think that might be one of the mistakes I made going into that free skate was I was not ready to handle that to a full extent.”
Malinin’s free skate score of 156.33 was significantly lower than his performances during the season leading up to the Games. In the four competitions ahead of Milan, he recorded scores of 209.78, 238.24, 228.97, and 215.78.
The Virginia native detailed that he could feel the “amazing environment” around the rink that day and was confident heading into the performance. However, something was amiss and it will take more than initially thought get the elusive gold in 2030, should Malinin compete.
“Of course, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. … All I have to do is just learn from my mistakes there and push to see how I can improve in the future,” Malinin added. “I can take a different approach leading up to the next Games, hopefully.”
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Three days following the disappointing final, Malinin posted on social media citing the “invisible battles” he’s been facing and some fans grew concerned over the posts.
The video showed flashes of happy memories and clips of Malinin holding his head in his hands after the final. At the end, a black screen appeared with “February 21, 2026”, which USA Today reported could be linked to an exhibition gala set for that date and Malinin is set to be a part of.
He also started to repost TikTok videos that had messages such as “Let it end. Let it hurt. Let it heal. Let it go.” and “Your little boy is tired, mom.” Fans quickly went the comments to write, “You are still a champion.”
It was also later discovered that Malinin was caught on a hot mic saying “Beijing, I would not have skated like that,” per USA Today, referencing his failure to make the U.S. team for the 2022 Games.
Despite taking the loss really hard, Malinin has seemed to find a way to have fun at the Games, including appearing on the NBC broadcast for the women’s short program with Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart.
Malinin also won’t leave empty handed.
During the figure skating team event earlier in the Olympics, he tallied a 200.03 in the free skate to help carry Team USA to win gold.
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