Ilia Malinin opens up about Olympic pressure
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Things did not unfold as planned by Ilia Malinin, the heavy favorite for the Olympic men’s figure skating title at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games. After leading early, he stumbled in the free skate and fell twice,
U.S. figure skater Ilia Malinin was spotted in the crowd watching the pairs' short programs, two days after his brutal outing in the men's free skate.
Ilia Malinin skated toward Olympic gold until his final performance unraveled the myth and revealed the human underneath.
The American superstar handled his loss with grace.
Ilia Malinin struggled in his free skate, falling twice and bailing on other jumps, finishing in 8th at the 2026 Olympics in a shocking result.
Ilia Malinin is getting more criticism for 'choking' after Team USA speedskater Jordan Stolz scored a second gold medal.
This is the first Olympics in 50 years where the move hasn't been illegal—and Malinin’s backflip has long been known as the “Bonaly flip.”