Hello from Milan and Cortina, where the unthinkable happened today inside the Milano Ice Skating Arena. Ilia Malinin, the American figure skating star known as the “Quad God,” was widely expected to win gold in the men’s figure skating final, but instead stumbled through his routine and fell off the podium entirely.
Our correspondents have it all covered below and at NBC News. Catch it all streaming on Peacock.
Live from Milan Cortina
As Ilia Malinin left the ice, he breathed heavily, his mouth open, a shocked look on his face. What was the first thing that went through his mind, as soon as the music stopped?
“I blew it,” Malinin said on the NBC telecast. “Honestly the first thing that came to my mind was: There’s no way that just happened.”
Malinin had been considered perhaps the face of these Milan Cortina Games. The 21-year-old from Virginia had earned the nickname the “Quad God” for his quadruple jumps, and had landed backflips in competition. Earlier this week, he performed a stellar free skate routine to help the U.S. figure skating team win gold.
On Tuesday, in the short program portion of the men’s singles event, Malinin posted a score of 108.16, putting him in first place by more than five points. Malinin was the favorite, expected to win gold, if he just performed as expected in today’s men’s singles free skate.
Instead, he skated arguably the worst performance of his career, given the stakes. He didn’t land his famed quadruple axel and botched several other jumps. Instead of a quadruple axel, Malinin just did a single. His quadruple loop turned into just a double. He fell on his quadruple lutz, and then he only did a double salchow.
Afterward, he seemed just as surprised as everyone else.
“Honestly, yeah. I was not expecting that,” Malinin said on NBC’s telecast. “I felt like, going into this competition, I was so ready. I was gonna — I just felt ready getting on that ice. I think maybe that might’ve been the reason, maybe I was too confident that it was going to go well.”
Malinin said he thought his issues were “definitely” mental. “Just now, finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy,” he said. “It’s not like any other competition. It’s really different. … I mean I was preparing the whole season. I felt so confident with my program, so [confident] with everything, and just go out, [and] that happen, I have no words honestly.”
Malinin wasn’t the only top competitor who experienced nerves. His top rival, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, also faltered during his routine — but he recovered enough to finish with silver. Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov put together a solid routine to win gold.
Athlete Spotlight
Earlier today in the men’s figure skating final, fellow American Maxim Naumov had to skate through a different kind of mental hurdle. Naumov lost both his parents in a Washington, D.C,. plane crash last year, and had spoken about skating in their honor.
Naumov also stumbled in his routine and ended up finishing 20th in the overall competition. He again held up a photo of himself with his parents as he waited for his score. Afterward, in an interview with NBC News, he said his first Olympic experience had its “ups and downs, but really, so minimal in the grand scheme of things.” He said he’d gained a new perspective.
“I’m very proud of myself for the fact that I was able to go out here and make the dreams that my family and I have into a reality,” he told NBC News. “There were of course some technical mistakes in the free [skate], but I’m just so happy that I was able to give it my all, truly, with no regrets. Man, I hope that they’re proud of me, and I hope people can be inspired also by what I was able to do here.”
Behind the Scenes
Today, in the men’s figure skating final, five competitors had something in common: they were all coached by Benoît Richaud.
Richaud actually is the choreographer for at least 16 figure skaters in Milan, hailing from 13 different countries. He said that when one of his athletes is competing, he quickly changes into a jacket representing the country that athlete is from.
“I know some coaches want to wear normal clothes. But I think the Olympic Games is a special moment where you also need to cherish the difference of people,” said the choreographer, who is French. “I think it’s something beautiful. Every different country has different cultures. When I go on the screen, I want to promote that.”
Photo of the Day
When to watch
The U.S. men’s hockey team takes the ice again tomorrow, hoping for a similar result from their opening game, a 5-1 victory. And American speedskater Jordan Stolz looks for another gold medal, this time in the 500-meters.
All times are in Eastern and asterisks signifies that it is a medal event:
Saturday, Feb. 14
- 3:05 a.m.: Curling, women’s round robin (Italy vs. China, Great Britain vs. Canada, Switzerland vs. Japan)
- 4 a.m.: Alpine skiing, men’s giant slalom run 1
- 4:30 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s dual moguls 1/16 finals
- 5 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s dual moguls 1/8 finals
- 5:20 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s dual moguls quarterfinals
- 5:35 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s dual moguls semifinals
- 5:46 a.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s dual moguls finals*
- 6 a.m.: Cross-country skiing, women’s 4X7.5km relays*
- 6:10 a.m.: Men’s hockey, Sweden vs. Slovakia, Germany vs. Latvia
- 7:30 a.m.: Alpine skiing, men’s giant slalom run 2*
- 8:05 a.m.: Curling, men’s round robin (Czechia vs. Great Britain, Sweden vs. China, Switzerland vs. Canada, USA vs. Germany)
- 8:45 a.m.: Biathlon, women’s 7.5km sprint*
- 10 a.m.: Speedskating, women’s team pursuit quarterfinals
- 10:40 a.m.: Men’s hockey, (Finland vs. Italy, Canada vs. Germany)
- 11 a.m.: Speedskating, men’s 500-meters
- 12 p.m.: Skeleton, women’s heat 3
- 12:45 p.m.: Ski jumping, men’s large hill first round
- 1:05 p.m.: Curling, women’s round robin (Canada vs. Switzerland, Japan vs. USA, Korea vs. Denmark, Italy vs. Sweden)
- 1:30 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s freeski big air qualification run 1
- 1:35 p.m.: Skeleton, women’s heat 4*
- 1:57 p.m.: Ski jumping, men’s large hill individual final round*
- 2:15 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s freeski big air qualification run 2
- 2:15 p.m.: Short track speedskating, men’s 1,500-meters quarterfinals
- 3 p.m.: Freestyle skiing, women’s freeski big air qualification run 3
- 3:01 p.m.: Short track speedskating, women’s 1,000-meter heats
- 3:10 p.m.: Men’s hockey, USA vs. Denmark
- 3:10 p.m.: Women’s hockey, quarter finals, Finland vs. Switzerland
- 3:49 p.m.: Short track speedskating, men’s 1,500-meters semifinals
- 4:05 p.m.: Short track speedskating, women’s 3,000-meters relay
- 4:42 p.m.: Short track speedskating, men’s 1,500-meters final*
That’s it for now! We’ll be back tomorrow.
