Ilia Malinin, the 21-year-old American figure skating champion, crashed out of medal contention at the Milano Ice Skating Arena on Friday, February 13, finishing eighth after two falls during his free skate routine.
The result stunned the skating world. Malinin entered the final with a five-point lead after his short program and had not lost a competition since 2023.
Journalists sat in stunned silence as the score appeared on screen. The crowd gasped audibly with each mistake during the five-minute routine.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan claimed an unexpected gold medal. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama struggled in his routine immediately before Malinin, leaving the door open for the American—who couldn’t capitalize.
“It’s a lot of mixed emotions,” Malinin told reporters minutes after stepping off the ice. “It’s the Olympics, and I think people only realize the pressure and the nerves that actually happen from the inside. It was just something that overwhelmed me, and I felt like I had no control.”
The two-time world champion admitted negative thoughts flooded his mind when he took his starting position. “All the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head, and there were just so many negative thoughts,” he said. “I just did not handle it.”
His father and coach Roman Skorniakov sat beside him as the score was read, both looking dumbfounded. Malinin still found the composure to congratulate Shaidorov on his victory.
Sports analyst Christine Brennan told CNN the moment was “as big an upset in sports as we’ve probably ever seen.”
The collapse recalls Nathan Chen’s 2018 experience in PyeongChang, where the “Quad King” fell multiple times and finished fifth. Chen returned to win gold in 2022.
“It wasn’t my best day, and it was definitely something I wasn’t expecting,” Malinin said. “But it’s done, I can’t go back and change it, even though I would love to.”
What to watch next: Malinin must now decide how to rebuild mentally before the next competitive season, with the 2030 Winter Olympics four years away.
Sources: Ilia Malinin, Christine Brennan, CNN, Getty Images
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