Ilia Malinin was stunned following his free skate program at the Winter Olympic Games on Friday.
After his closest rivals for the gold medal all fell in the lead-up to his performance, the leader after the short program only needed to stay upright and deliver a clean performance to win the men’s individual event.
Five minutes later, though, it was as if the air had been sucked from the Milan building.
An entire crowd had been anticipating the “Quad God” all night, and when he went to attempt the first-ever quadruple axel at the Olympics, he froze. He pulled out of the maneuver and then fell multiple times while messing up routine steps he’s demonstrated millions of times over the past four years.
The nerves and the moment got to him, and Malinin confirmed it seconds after he was done skating. He was caught on a hot microphone complaining that if Team USA had taken him to Beijing four years ago, like he should have (finishing second at nationals behind Nathan Chen), then Friday’s fall would have never happened.
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Four years ago, Malinin was already beginning to rise as one of the world’s brightest skaters, but Team USA wanted consistency. After Nathan Chen fell repeatedly in 2018 as a youngster, they decided to keep Malinin at home and bring experienced skater Jason Brown instead.
If Malinin was able to go to Beijing and experience the Olympics stress-free with Chen being the ace, would Friday’s result have gone differently?
Malinin thought so, tears in his eyes, as he would now have to wait four more years, just like Chen.
Fans online also chimed in on their thoughts about the decision made four years ago, which might have set off a domino effect for the Olympic Games to come.
Regardless of how many world titles or Grand Prixs Malinin wins, it won’t change what happened in Milan. The only thing he can do now is look forward and prepare for the French Alps Olympics in four years, where the pressure will only be doubled next time around.
