American figure skater Ilia Malinin made a brutally honest confession after floundering in his free skate at the Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy.
Malinin was the heavy favorite to win gold in the men’s figure skating event, and he had even more reason to be confident after a number of other contenders had underwhelming showings during their free skates. However, Malinin was out of sync from the beginning, and fell twice during his routine.
Malinin wound up with a 264.49 and lost over 70 points on his free skate. Not only did he miss out on the gold, but he finished eighth, off the podium entirely, and he looked like he was about to break down in tears as he left the ice.
Malinin was graceful enough to speak with NBC’s Andrea Joyce immediately following his skate, and he openly admitted that his first thoughts after ending his routine were simple: “I blew it.”
“I think it was definitely mental,” Malinin admitted. “Experiencing the Olympic atmosphere is crazy. It’s not like any other competition. It’s really different.”
The 21-year-old American admitted he had felt confident before the routine, but perhaps let overconfidence seep in.
Kudos to @andijoyce for asking the hard questions & even bigger kudos to Malinin for answering with such poise and grace after one of the worst moments of his young life. #Olympics pic.twitter.com/HMHNUVwJGP
— Kaitlin Urka (@kaitlinurka) February 13, 2026
Malinin was a clear favorite to win gold, and would have managed it had he simply done the program he has routinely done for the last two years. The fact that he fell apart will go down as one of the most shocking stories of the entire Winter Games.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan wound up winning gold
