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US figure skater Ilia Malinin revealed his mind was flooded with “thoughts and memories” before his performance in the men’s free skating final at the Winter Olympics on Friday.
Malinin, a top contender to win gold for the United States, surprisingly fell twice during her routine. He fell all the way to eighth and missed out on the podium.
“I just had so many thoughts and memories flooding in right before I got into my starting position and almost, I think 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 the Olympic gold medal hopeful in particular. It was just something I can’t control now.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men’s free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
Malinin emphasized the impact of “the pressure of the Olympic Games” in his first ever Olympic Games.
“The pressure of the Olympics, it’s really something else and I think not many people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good,” he said. “But it really just happened so fast that I didn’t have time to process it.”
Malinin took comfort in knowing he will return to the United States with the team gold medal he helped contribute to earlier this week as he tries to mentally process what happened on Friday.
“I think it’s definitely positive for me. And it honestly maybe gives me thoughts that I need to understand why it happened in the single 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,” said Malinin.
“Honestly, I haven’t had time to fully understand what was going on.”
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in the men’s singles figure skating at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin dominated the short program earlier this week and entered the day leading by more than five points with a score of 108.16.
But his last performance was his worst.
When his routine started Friday, Malinin connected on a quad flip to start, but then settled for a single axel. He then had a double loop instead of a quad loop.
He then fell on a quad Lutz attempt and then fell on another jump shortly after. He scored 156.33, far short of the world record of 238.24 he set in December and the 200 mark he routinely breaks in the free skate.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won the gold with a total score of 291.58, a personal best. His score of 198.94 in Friday’s freestyle was also a career high.
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan got the silver and Shun Sato, Kagiyama’s teammate, came away with the bronze.
Malinin, who posts total scores in the 300s regularly, 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 figure skating at the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milan Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin congratulated his Kazakh competitor right after the event ended.
Sitting 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. Malinin was 17 when he was left off the roster in favor of veterans. It was a telltale sign of a mental struggle, which Malinin confirmed almost immediately after he left the ice.
Malinin’s exit sparked widespread disappointment among Team USA and skating fans in general across social media.
