“The strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” wrote the two-time world champion.

Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin speaks out about ‘vile online hatred’ after falling twice in final

"The strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside," wrote the two-time world champion.

By Shania Russell

Shania Russell

Shania Russell is a news writer at *, *with five years of experience. Her work has previously appeared in SlashFilm and Paste Magazine.

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February 16, 2026 10:36 a.m. ET

Ilia Malinin of United States competes at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Feb. 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy. Credit:

Steve Christo - Corbis/Corbis via Getty

Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin refuses to be crushed beneath the pressure.

After a devastating finish in the men's singles figure skating competition, which saw the two-time world champion fall twice during his free skate presentation, Malinin is addressing how his mental health affected his performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

"On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside," Malinin wrote in a Monday Instagram post, three days after struggling through his free skate program in front of an international audience. "Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise."

The post was accompanied by a video montage featuring several of Malinin's career highs, such as winning gold at the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal and at a past ISU Grand Prix.

Ilia Malinin of Team United States falls over in the Men Single Skating on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games on Feb. 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy.

Jamie Squire/Getty

"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," he continued. "It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story."

At the end of his caption and the video were the words, "Coming February 21, 2026."

The date confirms that Malinin will still skate in Saturday's exhibition gala, a special performance that culminates the Olympic Games, usually featuring each sport's medalists. While Malinin did not medal in the men's individual event, he won gold with the rest of Team USA in the team competition.

Per NBC, the athlete has additionally confirmed that he will compete at the world championships next month in Prague, where Malinin is the two-time defending world champion .

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At 21 years old, Malinin had a lot riding on him at the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. The young athlete, who nicknamed himself "Quad God" as a teenager, was the front-runner to win gold during the men's singles event.

But during his program, after landing his quad flip, Malinin bailed out of his famed quad axel, settling instead for a single axel. The disastrous free skate also saw him fall on a quad Lutz attempt and again on a later jump. He ultimately scored a 156.33, a far cry from the 200-mark he routinely crosses in the free skate — and even further from the world record of 238.24 that he set in December.

Ilia Malinin competes at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty

Malinin's eighth-place finish ended a winning streak that he had been on since 2023. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won gold, while Yuma Kagiyama of Japan earned the silver and his teammate, Shun Sato, skated away with bronze.

"I blew it," Malinin told reporters moments after leaving the ice. "That's honestly the first thing that came to my mind."

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Malinin was the last to take to the ice on Friday and had a five-point lead separating him from the rest of the field, thanks to Tuesday's short program. But he has since admitted to feeling overwhelmed by nerves that he was ultimately unable to shake.

"I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose," Malinin told NBC Washington after the competition. "I think it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I've been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences. So, I just feel like it's the pressure of — especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can't control now."

He continued, "The pressure of the Olympics, it's really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that."

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