Imagine being the undisputed favorite, the one everyone expects to win, only to stumble when it matters most. That’s exactly what happened to Ilia Malinin, the 21-year-old figure skating sensation, during his Olympic free skate in Milan. But here’s where it gets controversial: Was it the pressure, the ice, or something deeper that led to his unexpected fall? Let’s dive in.
Malinin, often hailed as the ‘Quad God’ for his mastery of quadruple jumps, had dominated his sport for over two years, clinching two world championships with seemingly effortless grace. On that fateful Friday night, all he needed was a solid performance to secure his second gold medal of the Milan Cortina Games. Yet, in a stunning turn of events, he fell—not once, but multiple times—during a program he had perfected. The result? A tumble from first place to off the podium entirely, leaving Mikhail Shaidorov to claim the gold.
And this is the part most people miss: Malinin’s collapse mirrored Nathan Chen’s 2018 Pyeongchang heartbreak. Chen, another prodigy coached by the legendary Rafael Arutyunyan, had crumbled under pressure in South Korea, only to rebound a month later with his first world title and eventually Olympic gold in Beijing. Could Malinin follow a similar path? ‘I can’t go back and change it,’ Malinin admitted candidly. ‘But you have to take what happened and decide how to move forward.’
What makes Malinin’s fall so shocking isn’t just his dominance; it’s how perfectly everything seemed aligned for his victory. Earlier that night, his competitors—Italy’s Daniel Grassl and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa—had faltered on the same ice, which some criticized as subpar. Shaidorov, starting in sixth place, was the only one to deliver a memorable performance. Malinin had a substantial lead and only needed a scaled-back version of his notoriously difficult program to win. Yet, after a strong start, he doubled a quad loop, fell on another quad lutz, and botched his final jumping pass. What should have been a high-scoring quad salchow-triple axel became a double salchow—and he fell on that too.
‘It’s really difficult when everyone assumes you’ll win,’ said Yuma Kagiyama, the last skater to beat Malinin in 2023 and the men’s silver medalist. ‘His performance was unusual, but it proves this is the Olympics. Anything can happen.’ Malinin himself acknowledged the pressure, admitting he felt off during the team event’s short program. ‘We saw he’s human,’ Grassl noted. ‘This can happen to anyone.’
Malinin’s grace in defeat was undeniable. He embraced Shaidorov, whispering, ‘You deserve it,’ before facing a barrage of questions from reporters worldwide. ‘It’s like I wasn’t aware of where I was in the program,’ he explained. ‘It all went by so fast, and I didn’t have time to adjust.’
Here’s the bold question: Is the ‘Olympic curse’ real? Malinin thinks so, suggesting favorites often falter under the weight of expectations. But is it just pressure, or does something deeper—like the mental toll of perfectionism—play a role? Let’s discuss in the comments.
Despite the setback, Malinin remains the reigning world champion and the best of his generation. He’s already the favorite for gold in four years in France. ‘The Olympics aren’t easy,’ he said, ‘but I’m proud to have finished.’ Will he rise again? History suggests he will—but only time will tell. What do you think? Is Malinin’s story one of resilience, or does it reveal a flaw in how we handle pressure in sports? Share your thoughts below!
