Ilia Malinin is human after all. The ‘Quad God’ rescued Team USA in the team event by nailing five quad jumps in the free skate program, earning a 200.03 score and the gold medal. However, for the individual event, the story was quite different. Malinin slipped twice and finished way down the ladder at No. 8 with 156.33. 

To add context to the level of disappointment this result caused, Malinin had been on an unbeaten run that stretched back more than two years across 14 competitions. However, the phenomenon has received some kind words from sports legends in these trying times. 

“I just felt like all the just traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head,” he said after the result came out. “And there’s just like so many negative thoughts that just flooded into there, and I just did not handle them.” 

“I got so much love, so much support, and everyone was there for me, you know. Had so many different people reach out to me,” Malinin said. “Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Snoop, it was…I’m honestly just so honored for that, and I feel like it just made my day, honestly.” 

Much like Malinin, Curry and Brady know how quickly dominance can give way to doubt on the biggest stage. Steph Curry lost the 2016 NBA Finals after leading 3-1. Tom Brady’s Patriots team was undefeated in the regular season and set a record with 50 touchdown passes in a single season, later earning league MVP honors. Despite this dominance, they lost Super Bowl XLII to the Giants, which Brady has called “the hardest” of his career.

Snoop Dogg, while not being an athlete himself, has had various ups and downs as an artist. The honorary coach’s sense of humor could have played a part in cheering Malinin up after the disastrous event. Moving to a more relatable athlete, Simone Biles famously withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. 

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She was suffering a bout of the “twisties,” an incident where gymnasts lose spatial awareness while executing flips midair. For Malinin, he was particularly able to relate to Biles, telling NBC that they’ve charted “a similar path.” Reflecting on her journey filled with ups and downs, Malinin said, “She just had to get through there and understand what happened to not have that happen in the future, honestly.” 

Biles went on to win 3 of her gold medals and a silver medal at the 2024 Olympics. Support from some of the most legendary and popular personalities of all time would help Malinin recover. It’s not the end of the world for the youngster, and he is looking forward to ending the event with grace. 

Ilia Malinin is looking forward to his 2026 Olympics final skate after an uncommon invitation

On Saturday, February 21, 2026, the charm of figure skating will light up the Milano Ice Skating Arena for one last time. The highly anticipated closing gala will give a final taste of the Olympic atmosphere. It is an artistic performance rather than a competition where the stars of the previous weeks, medal winners, and athletes return to the rink with creative and surprising performances. Surprisingly, one of the performers includes Ilia Malinin.

It is not common for an eighth-place skater in any of the 4 Olympic disciplines to be invited to skate in the closing gala. Usually, only the Olympic medalists perform, with the organizers sometimes bringing in the fourth-place finisher or skater from the host nation. Malinin is neither. However, he is arguably the most popular and entertaining skater in the world, which grants him an exception. 

He has perfected the quad Axel in competition, which is something no one else on the planet has ever done. Despite the disappointment, he is looking to go out on a high note at Saturday’s closing exhibition gala.

“Just looking forward to the gala. I have something special planned. I hope that I can bring lots of emotion, lots of energy to the rink,” Malinin told Tirico.

He still has good memories from the team event at the 2026 Olympics. At 21, he is already one of the most accomplished athletes in the world. He will learn and improve from this event, possibly coming back stronger.