The 2026 Winter Olympics at Milano Cortina, Italy, brought a disappointing outcome for Team USA’s skating sensation, Ilia Malinin.
The 21-year-old from Virginia looked to capture gold with his brilliance on the ice, but failed to do so in disheartening fashion. His attempts to land the right combination of moves perfectly ultimately led to several mistakes and falls on the ice.
Malinin finished off the podium in the men’s figure skating event, a result nobody saw coming. It left him utterly dismayed, and it was clear he was distraught about not being able to deliver the performance he had originally envisioned.
However, he’s shown humility and good sportsmanship after his loss. Fans and friends have shown him massive support, including former Team USA skating medalist Tara Lipinski, who shared a special message with Malinin days after his loss.
Lipinski, now appearing on the reality TV competition show “The Traitors” with friend and fellow Olympic medalist Johnny Weir, posted an emotionally rewarding Instagram post on Tuesday.
It features a moment from earlier in the Olympics. Malinin is beaming with a bright smile, holding the gold medal he won in men’s team figure skating at the Milano Cortina Olympics. He places the medal around Lipiski’s daughter’s neck.
“This moment 🥺 You can tell Ilia is a great big brother, he was just so sweet with Georgie. 🥇,” Lipinski wrote in her IG carousel post’s caption.
Lipinski’s post also features images and a video of Malinin with Georgie on his lap, and smiling as he enjoys a special moment with his friend.
Malinin claimed a gold medal during the 2026 Winter Olympics with the men’s team in figure skating, but finished well off the podium when it came to the singles event. Despite showing excellence leading up to his solo performance, he later admitted he crumbled under the pressure of being on such a large stage.
He’ll likely return in four years at the Winter Olympics in Paris and will have this defeat behind him, ready to go for gold.
Lipinski claimed gold at the 1998 Nagano Olympics and realized that, despite Malinin’s crushing loss, the special memories he had created with family, friends, and teammates would likely last a lifetime.