Ilia Malinin is searching for answers after a shocking eighth-place finish in men’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
After the 21-year-old fell twice during his free skating program and failed to complete multiple technical elements, he struggled to hold back tears as he came off the ice.
About 30 minutes later, after Malinin’s score of 156.33 in the free skate and 264.49 overall was announced, the young skater spoke with reporters and said he’s trying to make sense of the night.
« Honestly, I still haven’t been able to process what just happened. It’s a lot of mixed emotions, » he said. « Going into this competition, I felt really good. This whole day, I felt very solid, and I just thought that all I needed to do is go out there and trust the process that I’ve always been doing with every competition. But of course, it’s not like any other competition, it’s the Olympics. »
