Ilia Malinin Says ‘Negative Thoughts’ Filled His Head in Moments Before He Fell Twice in Olympic Figure Skating Final

Ilia Malinin is still searching for answers after a stunning eighth-place finish in the men’s figure skating event at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The 21-year-old fell twice during his free skate and was unable to complete several planned technical elements. As he left the ice, he appeared emotional and struggled to hold back tears.

Roughly 30 minutes later, after his scores were posted — 156.33 in the free skate and 264.49 overall — Malinin spoke with reporters and said he was still trying to understand what went wrong.

“Honestly, I still haven’t been able to process what just happened. It’s a lot of mixed emotions,” he said. “Going into this competition, I felt really good. This whole day, I felt very solid, and I just thought that all I needed to do is go out there and trust the process that I’ve always been doing with every competition. But of course, it’s not like any other competition, it’s the Olympics.”

He said the moment felt overwhelming.

“It was really just something that overwhelmed me, and I just felt like I had no control,” Malinin said.

Asked whether nerves or the condition of the ice played a role, Malinin noted the ice was perhaps “not the best condition for what I would like to have,” but he mostly attributed the struggles to his mindset.

“Right before I got into my starting post, I just … all the negative thoughts just rushed into my head, and all the negative, just traumatic experiences, you know,” he said. “I’ve been through a lot and it’s not easy, so being the Olympic gold hopeful is really just a lot to deal with, especially for my age.”

Malinin was also asked whether competing at the 2022 Olympics might have helped him handle the moment differently. He was 17 then and was notably left off the team despite finishing second at U.S. Nationals. Malinin said it’s impossible to know how things would have unfolded.

“I think if I went to ’22, then I would have had more experience and know how to handle this Olympic environment, but also I don’t know what the next stages of my life would look like if I went there,” he said. “So now all I can do is just regroup from this and really just take in the information that happened and just figure out how to manage in the future.”