Back in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, Mikaela Shiffrin entered the Games as one of the biggest favourites expected to win multiple medals. But things did not go as planned. In her individual events, she made rare mistakes and ended up leaving without a medal. After those races, she admitted, “I feel terrible,” as she tried to process what had gone wrong. Now, 4 years later, that same kind of disappointment connects her to Ilia Malinin, who also went through a tough first Winter Olympics, and it was Shiffrin who stepped in to advise him on how to deal with moments like this and move forward.

Ilia Malinin recently shared with NBC Sports journalist Nick Zaccardi the advice he received from Mikaela Shiffrin that helped him move forward: “(Mikaela) said that sometimes there are things that we can’t control in life (…) and just be able to adapt and evolve and take everything into consideration.” To understand why this matters, you need to look back at how his first Olympics unfolded.

Going into the Olympics, Malinin was considered the best figure skater in the world. He was a multiple World Champion and had been on a winning streak since 2023, and was the only skater who could successfully land jumps such as the quadruple Axel. Expectations were very high. Even in the Olympics, he got off to a good start and placed first following the short program. But the free skate changed his story.

Under pressure, he fell twice, missed key jumps, and lost rhythm in several elements. By the end, he dropped to 8th place, missing the medal he had been expected to win. Later, he opened up more about the mental side of the experience. In a post-Olympic Instagram message, he spoke about carrying heavy pressure and how even strong moments can be affected by what is happening mentally.

He said, “On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside…Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise.” He added, “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,” he continued. “It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story.”

But what came next showed another side of his journey. Just weeks after the Olympics, Malinin returned to competition at the World Championships in Prague. He called it a chance for redemption. This time, he delivered a much stronger performance and went on to win his third World Championship title.

And this is the same journey Mikaela Shiffrin has taken to reach four Olympic medals.

Mikaela Shiffrin turned Olympic setbacks into a gold medal finish

Mikaela Shiffrin first made a name for herself at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, where she won gold in slalom at just 18 years old, becoming the youngest Olympic slalom champion in history. Four years later, at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, she continued her rise, winning gold in giant slalom and silver in alpine combined. But her third Olympics in 2022 Beijing brought a very different story.

She entered as one of the biggest favourites. Instead, everything went wrong in her individual events. She did not finish the giant slalom after an early mistake; she skied out in slalom, and she also failed to complete the combined race. In total, she did not finish three events and left Beijing without a medal in individual competition.

Mikaela Shiffrin later admitted, “I have had a lot of disappointing moments at these Games…” But then in the 2026 Winter Olympics, she made a comeback, but the start was again challenging. She failed to medal in the first events and placed fourth in the team combined and 11th in the giant slalom after making errors in both runs, and then her best event.

In the women’s slalom, she put forward a consistent run in two parts. This allowed Mikaela Shiffrin to lead after the first run and to maintain her lead after the second run, continuing to hold on in a tense finish and winning by 1.5 seconds. Her success secured her the slalom gold, her third Olympic medal.

In the end, both stories connect in the same way. Shiffrin understands what it feels like to fall on the biggest stage and still come back. Malinin is now going through that same cycle of pressure, failure, and recovery.