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American figure skater Ilia Malinin revealed his mind was flooded with “thoughts and memories” ahead of his performance in the men’s free skating final at the Winter Olympics on Friday.
Malinin, one of the leading gold medal contenders for the United States, surprisingly fell twice during his routine. He fell to eighth place and missed the podium.
“I had so many thoughts and memories right before I took my starting pose, and almost, I think, maybe it overwhelmed me a little bit. I’ve been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told reporters after the competition.
“So I just feel like it’s the pressure of being particularly this Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something that I can’t control now.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States competes in the men’s free skating program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, February 13, 2026. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
Malinin highlighted the impact of “Olympic pressure” during his very first Olympics.
“The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think not many people understand that. They just understand that from the inside and before this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he said. “But it really happened so quickly that I didn’t have time to take it all in.”
Malinin was comforted to know he will return to the United States with the team gold medal he contributed to earlier in the week as he tries to mentally process what happened Friday.
“I think it’s definitely positive for me. And honestly, maybe it makes me think that I need to understand why this happened in the individual event. I think that by participating in this competition, I made sure that I was able to prepare for at least four programs or four performances,” Malinin said.
“So, honestly, I haven’t had time to fully understand what happened.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in the men’s singles skating event at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Ice Rink in Milan, Italy, February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin dominated the short program earlier this week, entering the day ahead by more than five points with a score of 108.16.
But his final performance was his worst.
When his routine began Friday, Malinin connected on a quad-flip to start, but then settled for a single axel. He then made a double loop instead of a quadruple loop.
He then fell on a quad Lutz attempt and then another jump shortly after. He scored a 156.33, a far cry from the world record of 238.24 he set in December and the 200 mark he regularly hits in free skating.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won the gold medal with a total score of 291.58, a personal best. Her score of 198.94 in Friday’s free skate was also the highest of her career.
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan won the silver medal and Shun Sato, his teammate, won the bronze medal.
Malinin, who regularly posts total scores in the 300s, settled for just 264.49. His personal best is 333.81.
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in the men’s singles skating event at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Ice Rink in Milan, Italy, February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin congratulated his Kazakh competitor right after the event ended.
While on the bench, Malinin said that if he had been in Beijing four years ago, he would not have skated as badly. Malinin was 17 when he was cut from the roster in favor of veterans. It was a telltale sign of a mental battle, which Malinin confirmed almost immediately after leaving the ice.
Malinin’s arrival caused great disappointment among the American team and ice skating fans in general on social media.
