‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin falls twice and finishes eighth after shocking performance
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Ilia Malinin had a clear path to the gold medal on Friday night, but that is why nothing is at stake on paper.
The 21-year-old American skating phenom, nicknamed the “Quad God” for his astonishing jumping ability, failed to medal after being the heavy favorite to win gold, finishing in eighth place.
Malinin dominated the short program earlier this week, entering the day leading by more than five points with a score of 108.16. But Friday was the polar opposite.
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Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in men’s single skating on the seventh day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
Malinin hit a quad-flip to start, but then settled for a single axle. Then it did a double loop instead of a quad loop, which wasn’t exactly what I expected.
From there everything went downhill. Malinin then fell on a quad Lutz attempt and then fell on another jump shortly after. He earned a score of 156.33, a far cry from the world record of 238.24 he set in December and the mark of 200 he routinely hits in the free skate.
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold with a total score of 291.58, his personal best. His score of 198.94 in Friday’s free skate was also the highest of his career.
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan took silver and Shun Sato, Kagiyama’s teammate, took bronze.
Malinin, who regularly posts total scores in the 300, settled for just 264.49. His personal best is 333.81.
Ilia Malinin of the United States reacts after competing in men’s single skating on the seventh day of the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Ice Skating Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 13, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
While on the bench, Malinin said that if he had been in Beijing four years ago, he wouldn’t have skated as badly as he did. Malinin was 17 when he was left off the roster in favor of veterans. That was a telltale sign of a mental battle, which Malinin confirmed almost immediately after coming off the ice.
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“I didn’t expect that,” Malinin said. “I honestly can’t process what just happened.”
Milanin said he was actually “too sure that everything was going to be okay.”
When asked what his initial thoughts were when he came off the ice, he kept it very simple.
Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men’s free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 13, 2026. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)
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“I ruined it.”
Not everything will be failures for Malinin. He won gold in the team event earlier in the Games. Furthermore, he is only 21 years old and has nine victories in international competitions throughout his career, so he has plenty of time to rewrite his history.
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