In a stunning result at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, Ilia Malinin ended his final performance off the podium entirely despite appearing to have secured gold after his biggest competitors stumbled.
The self-styled “Quad God,” who led by a comfortable margin after the short program, merely had to deliver a mediocre performance to add individual gold to his team gold medal. But in a shocking series of events, the star-packed crowd inside Milano Ice Arena was silenced in disbelief when the 21-year-old Malinin was left trying to fight back tears after one of the worst nights of his career.
Shunik Denisovich/Anadolu via Getty Images
Shunik Denisovich/Anadolu via Getty Images Ilia Malinin of Team USA after his performance in the Men’s Single Free Program during the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on Feb. 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy.
The American figure skating sensation fell twice in a disastrous free skate, tumbling all the way to eighth place. He finished with 264.49 points, ending a two-plus year unbeaten streak that covered 14 full competitions.
So, who claimed gold?
With a stellar performance, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan finished with a career-best 291.58 points, giving his nation its first gold medal of the Winter Olympics. The 21-year-old landed five quadruple jumps and later fell to the ice as he completed his free skate to “The Diva Dance,” according to the Olympics website. As Malinin’s scores were revealed, video showed Shaidorov place his hands over his face, presumably shocked.
Malinin and Shaidorov are close friends.
Behind Shaidorov were Yuma Kagiyama, who earned his second consecutive Olympic silver medal and Japanese teammate Shun Sato, who took bronze.
