Maxim Naumov has a different perspective when it comes to the Olympics — and his message to U.S. figure skating teammate Ilia Malinin following one of the biggest upsets of the 2026 Games showed that.
Speaking to TODAY on Monday, Naumov, who made Olympic headlines of his own with emotional performances and tributes to his late parents, said he saw Malinin in the Olympic Village after his skate.
“I really just want him to know that we love him and we care about him. His performance and what he did on the ice that day in the free program, it doesn’t define him. In those moments, it’s how you respond. And knowing him, I know he’s going to be OK,” Naumov said. “But we’re all behind him, the entire skating community. The love and support that we have for him is regardless of anything that he does on the ice, as a human. So, I really hope that he feels that and we’ve got his back, no matter what.”
The 24-year-old Naumov finished his Olympic debut with an emotional free skate Friday night, just over a year after his parents were among 67 people killed when American Airlines Flight 5342 crashed into a military helicopter.
It wasn’t a perfect program. Far from it. Naumov fell twice on quad salchows and was uneven throughout.
But the point total wasn’t the point.
“To be honest, I just feel proud,” Naumov said afterward. “I feel proud of the journey that it took to get to this point. That is what I look toward right now. What it took to get here has been indescribable, inwards, getting up every day when I didn’t want to and pushing through the difficult times and the uncertainty of it all. I’m able to have some perspective on that. And I’ve had a lot of perspective in lots of areas in my life this year and skating is no different.
“So yes,” Naumov said, “there were some mistakes today, but man, I’m just happy and proud to be standing here today and getting through all the difficulty of this year and still standing on my feet and continuing to push onward.”
After an incredible journey to the Olympics following the deaths of his parents in the mid-air crash over the Potomac, Team USA figure skater Maxim Naumov reflects on the one thing he wishes he knew when he got to Milan.
It’s a message that stands in stark contrast to Malinin, who said he struggled with the pressure of being the gold medal favorite.
Malinin, who helped the U.S. clinch the team gold medal early in the Winter Games, was the heavy favorite to add another gold in the individual event. But he fell twice and struggled throughout his free skate on Friday, ending up off the podium entirely and finishing in eighth.
“I can’t process what just happened,” Malinin said just moments after the uncharacteristic skate.
Malinin hinted in a somewhat cryptic social media post Monday that there’s more to what happened in his Olympic journey that many may not have seen — and that “version of the story” will come out this week.
Malinin posted a video on social media Monday juxtaposing images of his many triumphs with a black-and-white image of the U.S. figure skater with his head buried in his hands, and a caption hinting at an “inevitable crash.”
“This is that version of the story,” he wrote. “Coming February 21, 2026.”
Feb. 21 is also the day Malinin is expected to skate in the traditional exhibition gala to wrap up the Olympic figure skating program.
Malinin, who helped the U.S. clinch the team gold medal early in the Winter Games, was the heavy favorite to add another gold in the individual event. But he fell twice and struggled throughout his free skate on Friday, ending up off the podium entirely and finishing in eighth.
“I can’t process what just happened,” Malinin said just moments after the uncharacteristic skate that resulted in one of the biggest surprises of the 2026 Winter Olympics.
He acknowledged afterward that the pressure of the Olympics had worn him down, saying: “I didn’t really know how to handle it.”
Malinin alluded again to the weight he felt while competing in Milan in the caption to his social media video.
What happened to Ilia Malinin at the 2026 Winter Olympics? High performance psychologist Dr. Michael Gervais, the founder of Finding Mastery, analyzes his mental state after the shocking result.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote the 21-year-old Malinin. “Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash.”
Malinin, who is expected to chase a third consecutive world title next month in Prague, had been unbeaten in 14 events over more than two years. Yet while Malinin always seemed to exude a preternatural calm that belied his age, the son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov had admitted early in the Winter Games that he was feeling the pressure.
But even in his most trying Olympic moment, Malinin showed strength and sportsmanship.
Malinin hugged and congratulating surprise gold medalist Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan. He then answered a barrage of questions from reporters with poise and maturity that few would have had in such a situation.
“The nerves just went, so overwhelming,” he said, “and especially going into that starting pose, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. So many negative thoughts that flooded into there and I could not handle it.”
“All I know is that it wasn’t my best skate,” Malinin added later, “and it was definitely something I wasn’t expecting. And it’s done, so I can’t go back and change it, even though I would love to.”
