If not for Ilia Malinin, Team USA might have watched the gold medal slip right through their fingers. Malinin at first didn’t want to skate in the long program on Sunday, instead wished to rest before his individual event. But when the U.S. Figure skating team called upon him on Saturday night, he agreed. Turns out, the event actually came down to his performance at last, but the Team Japan fans might have a different version to say.

With his now-signature backflip, Malinin pulled the Americans back from the brink and put them in a position to defend their title. However, despite an aggressive start, Malinin’s skate skidded out from underneath him, and the Quad god had to use his hands to catch himself.

For a moment, it looked like this early mistake might cost Malinin and Team USA everything, especially with Japan’s Shun Sato coming on next to deliver a clean, error-free skate. But when the scores flashed, Malinin still posted a massive 200.03, while Sato’s 194.86 left Japan just short of gold. This didn’t sit well with the Japanese team’s fans.

A user took to X and wrote (translated), “Dude!! Look at the perfect rotation Shun Sato did, his team cried with emotion, he broadcast everything and they robbed him.”

But why did Ilia Malinin’s fall not matter?

What likely made Ilia Malinin’s performance a cut above the rest was his choreography and technical difficulty. Sato may have delivered the cleaner skate, but Malinin’s packed so much complexity into his routine that it seemingly balanced out the slip.

Malinin nailed a quad flip, followed by landing a quad toe loop and a quad Salchow in combination. His quad Lutz landing might have been a bit imperfect, but the hero of it all was the quad Axel, one that made the crowd, including Novac Djokovic gasp.

On the other hand, Sato’s performance featured three quad jumps and was way less difficult. No wonder, Malinin’s technical score (110.32) was higher than Sato’s (106.4), and so was his programs component score.

Also, a critical factor is whether the “majority” of the skater’s weight shifted off the blades. A brief ‘hand down’ to steady a landing is often penalized through technical execution scores rather than a full fall deduction. This possibly looked like the case in Malinin’s touch down.

However, while the Americans celebrated on the podium, jumping and cheering as their names were called, across the ice, it was a completely different scene. Team Japan looked crushed. Their top skater, Shun Sato, couldn’t hold back his emotions, breaking down in tears after the defeat. And here’s what the fans had to say after.

Fans react after Ilia Malinin’s error still secures U.S. gold

The reaction online was instant and emotional. “I can’t wrap my head around Shun not winning. His skate was error-free, but Malinin wins even with a fall… Disgraceful. No wonder he was crying, he was absolutely robbed. My whole heart is with Shun; I hope he wins gold one day,” another user wrote on X, standing firmly behind the 22-year-old Japanese silver medalist at the Milan Cortina Olympics.

Others echoed the same frustration. “Leave me alone, I’m crying with Shun because the world isn’t fair,” another fan posted (translated) underneath the image of Sato crying. For many watching, it just didn’t feel fair.

From his opening move till the end, Shun Sato skated with calm precision. When the music stopped, he pumped his fist, hopeful it would be enough. But sadly, it wasn’t quite enough.

Some fans tried to clear up the moment that followed. “He cried NOT because he couldn’t win the 1st, just being overwhelmed by emotion after having done the best he could that scored the highest score of this season. It was not about winning, it’s about the team sharing the moment of lifetime,” another user pointed out, defending Sato’s tears as pure emotion, not disappointment.

Support kept pouring in, but fans didn’t turn a blind eye to how brilliant Malinin was either. “Felt for Sato who did a perfect skate. But hard to argue #Malinin didn’t deserve 1st. Amazing skates from the men!! If this is a glimpse of what the individuals are going to be like, it’s going to be phenomenal.”

More comments followed online “This broke my heart, man, I hate those judges 💔💔💔.” It was clear that, medals aside, Sato had won plenty of hearts.

Still, the gold went to Team USA. Ilia Malinin will now look to do even better in the individual competition, but on this night, he did just enough to help his team stand on top of the podium together.