Ilia Malinin, the American figure skater hailed as the “Quad God,” faced a surprising and disappointing outcome at the Olympic Games in Milan, finishing in eighth place after struggling in the free skate competition. Once seen as the overwhelming favorite for gold, the 21-year-old Malinin found the pressure of expectations to be overwhelming, leading to multiple falls during his routine.
Having arrived in Italy with high hopes and a recent unbeaten streak, Malinin’s performance took a downward turn when he bailed out of his signature quad axel jump early in his program. Although he began well with a successful quad flip jump, subsequent jumps did not go as planned, resulting in a fall on a quad lutz and difficulties with his triple toe loop. The culmination of these mishaps left him with a free skate score of 156.33—a stark contrast to the gold medalist, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, who won with a score of 275.24.
Despite the unfathomable outcome, Malinin, who previously dominated the sport by winning two consecutive world championships, took the moment in stride. “I blew it,” he admitted, acknowledging the mental struggle he faced during the performance. Overwhelmed by nerves and flashbacks to past traumatic experiences, he recognized that he couldn’t escape the mental block that hindered his performance.
Malinin’s journey to the Olympics was marked by his ambition to treat the event like any other competition, but the stakes proved to be more daunting than expected. After finishing second in the team event’s short program, he thought he had prepared well enough for the individual competition. His initial strategy of skipping the final practice on-site and focusing on relaxation seemed to work as he led the short program after achieving a score of 108.16.
However, during the free skate, the mental pressure appeared too much to bear. The skater expressed regret over his performance, stating that he did not know what went wrong, leaving every viewer in disbelief.
The competition concluded with Malinin congratulating Shaidorov on his victory, who described his gold medal as the motivation behind his daily training efforts. Other American skaters struggled as well, with Andrew Torgashev finishing 12th and Maxim Naumov earning a 20th-place finish amid errors but garnering applause from an audience appreciative of his journey.
While Malinin’s Olympic experience did not align with his aspirations, there remains hope for recovery and growth. He spoke about regrouping mentally and moving forward, indicating a determination to learn from this challenging moment and return stronger in future competitions.