What Simone Biles' Calm Can Teach Ilia Malinin After He Admits He 'Was Not Ready to Handle' Free Skate Pressure
Ilia Malinin acknowledged the weight of the Olympic spotlight after a dramatic free skate at the Milano Cortina Games left the 21-year-old off the podium. Speaking in a televised interview on Feb. 18, 2026 (ET), Malinin framed the result as a painful but clarifying moment that will shape his approach to future major competitions.
How pressure unraveled on the Olympic stage
Malinin entered the individual men's event as a favorite, buoyed by the energy of the arena and confidence in his technical arsenal. "Going into that day, I felt really confident, really good, " he said. But the free skate did not go as planned: a series of mistakes, including failed attempts at his signature quadruple axel, culminated in a finish well below expectations.
In the immediate aftermath, microphones captured Malinin reflecting on experience and youth, with him noting that greater Olympic seasoning might have changed the outcome. "It really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it, " he said, adding that one of his mistakes was not being prepared to handle the attention that comes with being in the sport’s brightest spotlight.
Those comments offer a rare, candid view from an athlete whose public image had been largely defined by innovation and technical bravura. Malinin acknowledged the emotional toll: "Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling. The most honest way to say it is it’s just a lot on you, just so many eyes, so much attention. Not only from people, fans, media, it's just so much. "
Lessons learned and a plan for rebound
Rather than retreat from risk, Malinin said he intends to keep pushing the boundaries of his sport. He still plans to pursue an aggressive technical program and will attempt to build on the high-difficulty elements that have defined his skating. "I think I would be much better to be known as 'Quad God, ' as you say, rather than winning gold medal, " he added, signaling a commitment to the signature jumps that drew global attention to his work.
But the path forward now carries a new layer: learning to manage the psychological load that accompanies elite status. Malinin suggested that the experience will inform how he prepares emotionally for future championships and the 2030 Olympic Games in the French Alps. "Looking back at that, I know now I'll be able to understand how that feels, so that way I can take a different approach leading up to the next Games, hopefully, " he said.
His immediate chance at redemption comes quickly. Malinin is scheduled to compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague next month, where he will have an opportunity to translate lessons from Milan Cortina into a more composed performance on the global stage. He emphasized the need to move forward: "You have to get up and skate the next day, " a sentiment that underlines both the resilience required in individual sport and the short shelf life of any single competition.
Pressure, perspective and the long game
The broader narrative emerging from Malinin's comments is familiar to many elite athletes: technical talent alone does not insulate a competitor from the pressures that accompany expectation. The contrast with athletes known for a composed presence under scrutiny—figures whose names are synonymous with managing intensity—was implicit in the public reaction. Fans and peers alike have pointed to Malinin’s youth and rapid rise as factors that make this experience a formative one rather than a defining failure.
For Malinin, the next year will be about marrying the technical risk that made him a standout with the psychological strategies that allow those risks to be executed on the sport’s biggest nights. If he can do that, the stumble in Milan Cortina may ultimately be remembered as a crucial step in a longer arc that includes more victories than setbacks.
