Days after he stumbled during his 2026 Olympics free skate, Ilia Malinin is taking some time to reflect.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” the figure skater, 21, captioned a montage of highlights via Instagram on Monday, February 16. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story.”
Malinin’s caption teased, “Coming February 21, 2026.”
The date may seemingly hint that Malinin will skate at the exhibition gala (a non-medal event) on February 21.
Ilia Malinin Had ‘Traumatic’ Thoughts Before Shocking 8th Place Finish
Malinin earned messages of support in the comments section of the post.
“True champions aren’t just those who win gold medals. You are simply a champion of humanity. And at the World Championships, you will show who is the king of figure skating. We are waiting for you in Prague. We love you, Ilia! 🤍🤍,” one person wrote.
“You are a true artist. When you step onto the ice, we don’t just watch, we feel everything with you. The joy, the fire, the heartbreak, the fight. And when the storm comes, we’re not backing away. We’re ready to walk through it with you! ♥️,” a second person said.
“You are a champion, Ilia. You won not only an Olympic gold medal in the team event, you won the hearts of so many people around the world because of your sportsmanship, resilience, and candor. We support you 🫶🏼,” said a third person.
The post came after Malinin competed in the men’s free skate event at the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13. The athlete, who was highly favored to secure the gold medal, fell twice during the performance and botched some of his most anticipated jumps. He ultimately finished eighth after the free skate.
“I was not expecting that,” Malinin told NBC after the performance. “I felt so ready getting on that ice. Maybe I was too confident it was going to go well. I think it was definitely mental. Finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy. It’s really different.”
He continued, “I blew it. There’s no way that just happened.”
In the end, it was Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan taking the gold and Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama earning the silver and Shun Sato taking the bronze. Shaidorov, 21, made history as Kazakhstan’s first-ever gold medalist in figure skating.
Malinin isn’t going home empty handed, though. He and fellow Team USA skaters Alysa Liu, Amber Glenn, Madison Chock, Evan Bates, Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea secured gold in the team event on February 8 at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
“It’s amazing to be able to contribute in a significant way to the team,” O’Shea, 35, said after the team event. “The team is an amazing team — obviously, we’re Olympic gold medalists. And being able to help out in our way was really meaningful to us, in particular. We’re going to use it. We’re going take the confidence, we’re going to take the momentum and roll with it into the individual event.”
Liu, 20, echoed, “It’s a really good feeling. I feel super satisfied and I’m just happy that I was able to be in the team box to support and cheer. There’s no feeling like that. It was incredible.”
