Ilia Malinin is overwhelmed by ‘thoughts and memories’ of the Olympic free skate
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US men’s figure skater Ilia Malinin revealed his mind was filled with “thoughts and memories” ahead of his performance in the men’s free skate final at the Winter Olympics on Friday.
Malinin, the top contender to win gold for the US, fell twice during his career. He fell all the way to eighth place and missed the podium.
“I already had a lot of thoughts and memories flooding just before I entered my first place, and probably, I think, maybe it pressured me a little. I have experienced a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences,” Malinin told the press after the competition.
“So, I feel like it’s pressure especially with the hope of an Olympic gold medal. It was something I can’t control now.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men’s free skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 13, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Landis/AP)
Malinin emphasized the impact of “Olympic pressure” on his first Olympics.
“The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something different, and I think a lot of people don’t understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, I’m really good,” he said. “But it just happened so fast I didn’t have time to process it.”
Malinin took solace in the knowledge that he will return to the US with the team gold medal he helped win earlier in the week as he tries to mentally process what happened on Friday.
“I think that is a good thing for me. And honestly maybe it gives me the thoughts that I need to understand why that happens in each event. I think that going to this competition I made sure that I was able to prepare for at least four programs or four games,” said Malinin.
“So, the truth is, I didn’t have time to fully understand what was happening.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in the singles figure skating at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin dominated the short program earlier this week, entering the day leading by more than five points with 108.16 points.
But his last performance was worse.
When his routine began on Friday, Malinin connected on a quad-flip to start but then landed on a single axel. Then he had a double loop instead of a quad loop.
He then fell on a quad Lutz attempt and then another jump right after that. She scored 156.33, a far cry from the world record of 238.24 she set in December and the 200 mark she usually hits in the free skate.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold with a total score of 291.58, a personal best. Her score of 198.94 in Friday’s free skate was also a career high.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama got the silver, while Shun Sato, Kagiyama’s teammate, came away with the bronze.
Malinin, who regularly posts perfect scores in the 300s, scored only 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 figure skating at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, Feb. 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin congratulated his Kazakhstani opponent shortly after the event.
While on the bench, Malinin said that if he had been in Beijing four years ago, he would not have skated as badly as he did. Malin was 17 when he was left off the roster in favor of veterans. That was the telltale sign of a mental battle, Malinin confirmed soon after leaving the ice.
Malinin’s finish caused a lot of disappointment among Team USA and ice skating fans in general on social media.
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