Ilia Malinin Finds Catharsis in Milan Gala at the 2026 Winter Olympics
Ilia Malinin used the exhibition gala in Milan to replace a painful competition memory with a deliberately theatrical routine, performing to the song "Fear" on the final night of figure skating. The moment resonated in a program that featured more than 40 skaters and underscored the emotional toll elite competition can exact at the 2026 winter olympics.
Development details — 2026 Winter Olympics gala performance
On Saturday night the traditional post-competition exhibition gathered a field that included the United States’ Malinin and Alysa Liu, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov and former Olympic medalist Carolina Kostner. Malinin, 21 years old, skated to "Fear, " a raw song about mental-health struggles, and staged a routine that mixed theatrical gestures with technical highlights: he completed one quadruple jump and followed it with his trademark backflip that landed on one foot, drawing a roaring response from the crowd. Liu, 20, who had won two gold medals on the same Olympic ice earlier in the Games, closed the evening with a joyful program. Shaidorov, the men’s champion in the competition, performed a light-hearted routine in costume.
Context and escalation
Malinin had been one of the favorites for individual gold after helping the U. S. secure the team title and delivering a strong short program. But a difficult free skate the previous Friday left him off the podium; he later acknowledged the crushing expectations he had carried into the event. In the gala he staged moments that referenced that pressure — pretending to scroll through his phone, flinching at imagined flashbulbs, pulling a hood over his head and swatting away intrusive noises that suggested social-media critique. The routine closed with a symbolic gesture: placing headphones on and eliciting immediate silence, a theatrical punctuation to a week that mixed success and disappointment.
Immediate impact
The exhibition served multiple functions: it celebrated the sport, allowed medalists to skate last as tradition dictates, and offered performers public closure. More than 40 skaters turned the evening into an arena for both levity and reflection. Amber Glenn, a three-time and reigning national champion who helped the U. S. defend its team gold, recovered from a costly short-program error in competition to deliver one of her strongest free skates during the gala, skating to "That’s Life. " Kostner opened the show with a duet that used a 3D projection to trace an athlete’s journey, linking early training to peak performance. For viewers and athletes alike, the gala reframed how the week in Milan will be remembered: not only for medals but for personal narratives of comeback and release.
Forward outlook
The exhibition formally closes the figure skating program at these Games and marks a transitional moment for competitors moving away from Olympic pressure toward new seasons or rest. With the competitive events concluded, attention now shifts to how athletes process their results and plan next steps; several performers emphasized recovery and celebration on the ice. What makes this notable is how the gala allowed athletes to shape their own stories in public — turning competition outcomes into performances of resilience. The closing night in Milan offered a measurable contrast between the official rankings and the emotional resolutions each skater staged before the crowd.
The 2026 winter olympics thus end for figure skating on a note that blends spectacle and introspection, with prominent names using the exhibition not just to entertain but to articulate the pressures and possibilities that defined their week.
