The 21-year-old captured a gold medal in the team event and entered the men’s free skate final as the clear favorite to win a second gold. However, he fell twice during his program and ultimately finished eighth — one of the most shocking developments of the Games.
Despite that setback, Malinin has been one of the most dominant athletes in his sport in 2025. Just days after the Olympics concluded, he was named a finalist for the 96th James E. Sullivan Award, which is presented annually to the nation’s top amateur athlete at the collegiate, Olympic, or elite level.
Malinin is featured alongside several remarkable names, including fellow U.S. Olympian and figure skater Alysa Liu, husband-and-wife ice dancers Evan Bates and Madison Chock, and Indiana Hoosiers national championship-winning quarterback Fernando Mendoza, along with several other premier athletes at the collegiate and Olympic levels.
Heading into the free skate final, Malinin had won his previous 14 individual competitions, which made his eighth-place finish all the more shocking — both to himself and to fans around the world who had grown accustomed to his dominance.
Still, every athlete has an off day. Malinin has embraced that reality over the past week, handling the disappointment as well as he possibly could and closing out his Olympic run with a strong performance in the gala exhibition.
Now, he is expected to shift his focus back to the 2026 season and prepare for the upcoming World Figure Skating Championships next month in Prague, Czechia, where he hopes to deliver what he calls a “redemptive skate.”
“My goal is a redemptive skate at the World Championships,” Malinin said. “You know, it’s really just better to have a good time and honestly enjoy the last competitions of the season.”