American figure skater Ilia Malinin said overconfidence led to a poor performance and missed podium for the men’s singles favorite Friday in Milan.
Malinin, who posted the top short program score and carried a lead into the final portion of the singles competition, fell several times on on the Milano Ice Skating Arena ice and ended his skate in a state of shock. He finished the competition in eighth place, more than 27 points behind gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato earned respective silver and bronze medals.
“I was not expecting that,” Malinin told NBC. “I felt like going into this competition I was so ready. I just felt ready getting on that ice. I think maybe I was too confident that it was going to go well.
“Honestly, it just happened. I can’t process what just happened.”
Malinin, who posted a competition-best 108.16 in Tuesday’s short program, totaled a 156.33 in the free skate, which ranked 15th among the two dozen competitors. Shaidorov, who was fifth in the short program, followed with a 198.64 in the free skate, the best score in the field.
Kagiyama, who also won silver in men’s singles at the 2022 Winter Olympics, registered the second-highest score in the short program. He followed with a 176.99 in the free skate.
Sato, who was ninth in the short program, produced the third-best free skate score (186.20) to finish less than a point better than fourth-place Junhwan Cha of the Korea Republic.
Adam Siao Him FA of France, the 2022 bronze medalist, was third in the short program, but slipped to seventh in singles due to a 166.72 performance in the free skate.
Malinin, who won the last two singles world championships and earned a gold medal through the 2026 Winter Olympics team event, admitted that the Olympic atmosphere played a role in Friday’s finale.
“I think it was definitely mental,” Malinin said, when asked if his difficulties were more physical or mental. “I think now, finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy. It’s not like any other competition. It’s really different. I’m still so grateful that i was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am. Of course that was not the skate I wanted.”
The 21-year-old, known as the “Quad God,” remains the only skater to land a quadruple axel in an international competition. He did not attempt the jump during his final session.
“I blew it,” Malinin said. “That’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind. There is no way that just happened. I was preparing the whole season. I felt so confident with my program, so confident with everything and just to go out and that happened. I have no words honestly.”
Andrew Torgashev placed 12th in the singles competition. Fellow American Maxim Naumov, whose parents — former figure skating world champions Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova — were among 67 killed in January 2025 when a commercial jet collided with an Army Black Hawk helicopter, finished 20th.
