The ‘Quad God’ on Friday, Feb. 13, was unable to follow up a strong short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the free skate, as he had a disastrous performance with several falls and missed executions to finish eighth overall with a total score of 264.49 in men’s singles.
It is a stunning upset at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as the 21-year-old from Fairfax, Virginia was the favorite for the Olympic gold medal heading into Milan. He also held a lead of more than five points going into Friday’s free skate event.
‘I was not expecting that. I felt like going into this competition, I was so ready. I just felt ready getting on the ice,’ Malinin said shortly to NBC’s Andrea Joyce after Friday’s event. ‘… I can’t process what just happened. It happens.’
To add to the shock, Malinin had not lost as he did on Friday in over two years: It was the first loss since November 2023. He, however, still heads home as an Olympic champion, as he helped deliver Team USA a gold medal in the team event earlier in the week.
Here’s a snippet of the reactions to the outcome in Milan:
Social media reacts to Ilia Malinin’s loss in men’s figure skating at 2026 Winter Olympics
Here’s a look at social media after Malinin finished eighth in the men’s singles figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics:
The USA TODAY app gets you to the heart of the news — fast. Download for award-winning coverage, crosswords, audio storytelling, the eNewspaper and more.
