American figure skater Ilia Malinin was the favorite to win going into the 2026 Milano-Cortina Winter Games, having been the 2024 and 2025 world champion. He became the top prospect for the gold medal at the Winter Olympics after an impressive performance in the team event, where he helped score 19 points for Team USA. Malinin opened his short program in commanding fashion, positioning himself for a run at the top of the podium. However, a high-risk free skate unraveled when he fell twice, dropping him to an eighth-place finish and ending his individual medal hopes.
The short program took place on Tuesday, Feb. 10, where Malinin delivered an impressive performance as he scored 108.16 points to sit in first place. However, just days later on Feb. 13, he struggled in the free skate, placing 15th after earning 156.33 points. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov won the free skate with 198.64 points and ultimately secured the top overall score in the men’s singles competition while Malinin’s combined total left him eighth overall.
The free skate was expected to be Malinin’s moment to showcase his signature quad jumps, but the technical brilliance many anticipated never fully materialized. Gasps filled the air as he popped his quad-axel and completed a single instead. He briefly regained momentum with a quad lutz, but the program continued to unravel. A planned quad loop was reduced to a double, disrupting his technical base value. Later in the skate, Malinin fell twice—first on another quad lutz attempt and then again on a failed Salchow combination—bringing a difficult end to what had been expected to be a gold-medal performance.
The frustration could be felt from beyond the screen as he finished. As Malinin struck his final pose, the cameras zoomed in on his anguished expression and his clear eagerness to step off the ice. The weight of the performance seemed to hit him all at once; after acknowledging the crowd, his composure gave way and he dropped his face into his hands, processing a routine that had slipped far from expectations.
In a post-match interview, Malinin explained that he felt confident going on to the ice and that the program was going to go well. He believed that a combination of his overconfidence and the “Olympic atmosphere” played a role, leading to his subpar performance. Reflecting on his thoughts when the music ended, Malinin said, “I blew it. That’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind: there’s no way that just happened. I mean, I was preparing the whole season. I felt so confident with my program … and then to just go out and have that happen … there’s no words, honestly.”
As the self-proclaimed “Quad God,” Malinin received immense backlash for his performance on the ice—a reminder of the pressure that comes with being center stage at the Olympics.