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United States figure skater Ilia Malinin may have been favorited to take home medals entering the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, but he admitted not being well prepared to do so.
Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God” for his special quadruple axel that he could perform in his routine, shockingly fell multiple times in the men’s free skate final, finishing eighth in the event. The result was surprising to fans and pundits alike, but this Malinin has since had time to reflect on what went wrong in Milan.
During an appearance on the “Today” show on Tuesday, he was candid with his response. It wasn’t that he wasn’t technically prepared to perform in Milan — it was the pressure from the fans in the stands and the millions watching around the world.
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts to his disastrous routine, in which he fell twice, during the Figure Skating, Men’s Singles Skating-Free Skating competition at the Milano Ice Skating Arena at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games 2026 on Feb. 13, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (Tim Clayton/Getty Images)
“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling,” Malinin said about the free skate blunders. “The most honest way to say it is it’s just a lot of on you, just so many eyes, so much attention. It really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it, so I think that might be one of the mistakes I made going into that free skate was I was not ready to handle that to a full extent.”
Heading into the Olympics, it was expected that Malinin would be on the podium in some capacity after the men’s free skate came to close. He had four competitions leading up to the Games, where his scores ranged between 209-238.
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However, the falls led to a final score of 156.33, and Malinin hung his head after the event knowing that he wasn’t going to be securing an Olympic medal this time around.
Ilia Malinin of Team United States falls during the Men Single Skating on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
“Of course, it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. …All I have to do is just learn from my mistakes there and push to see how I can improve in the future. I can take a different approach leading up to the next Games, hopefully,” he said.
But it hasn’t been all bad for Malinin in Milan, as he helped the United States achieve team gold earlier in the Games with a 200.03 free skate.
Ilia Malinin of Team United States leaves the ice after competing in the Men Single Skating on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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Malinin will be 25 at the next Winter Olympics in 2030, which will be held in the French Alps.
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