Milan Cortina’s most stunning result took place on the ice on Friday.
Ilia Malinin, the ‘Quad God’, finished eighth after an awkward performance after entering the free skate in position to cruise to gold.
The 21-year-old from Virginia fell on several of his jumps, losing 72 points due to a handful of uncharacteristic errors. His quadruple axel turned into a single, his quadruple loop turned into a double, and he fell on his quadruple lutz.
Malinin was visibly upset as he left the ice before sitting with his father. After receiving his score, Malinin was blunt in his assessment of his performance while speaking on the NBC broadcast.
“I didn’t expect that,” he said. “I felt so ready to get on the ice. Maybe I was too confident that things would go well.
“I think it was definitely mental. Finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy. It’s really different.”
Simply put, Malinin was baffled by his mistakes, especially after winning the last fourteen competitions he had entered.
“I screwed up,” Malinin said. “There’s no way this could have just happened.”
Malinin took the lead in the free skate after posting a 108.16 in the short program, putting him more than five points ahead of second-place Yuma Kagiyama of Japan. But his score of 156.33 in the free skate was the 15th best overall, dropping him all the way to eighth in the final standings.
Ilia Malinin has won two world titles in figure skating and three U.S. national championships, thanks in part to his ability to land a quadruple axel.
However, Malinin will not leave Italy without a medal. He helped Team USA win gold in the team event earlier in the Games.
Olympic gold was widely expected to be awarded to Malinin, who has dominated the sport for several years. He won gold at the world championships in 2024 and 2025, as well as the US championships in 2023, 2024, 2025 and 2026.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan (291.58) took gold in the event, followed by Kagiyama (280.06) and Shun Sato of Japan (274.90). Compatriots Andrew Torgashev and Maxim Naumov finished the men’s event in 12th and 20th respectively.
In Italy, figure skating continues with the pairs program (15 and 16 February) and the women’s singles (17 and 19 February).
Ilia Malinin and Alysa Liu spoke after Team USA claimed gold in the Olympic figure skating team event.
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