Ilia Malinin 🇺🇸 156.33 / 264.49
“Well, putting all the negatives aside, the atmosphere was really incredible. The support — honestly, even with that skate — the crowd never stopped cheering. They were supporting me the whole time, and that really meant a lot.”
On the pressure and the difficult moment:
“Honestly, the support is very special. In this sport, you have the privilege of being not only an athlete, but also an artist. But with that comes a lot of pressure — the expectations, the media, everything around it.
On What caused the problems?
“I’ve kind of said it already. It’s not a pleasant feeling, and I’m still trying to understand exactly what happened. But it’s done. I can’t change the outcome. Of course, a lot of people would go back and change it if they could. My life has had a lot of ups and downs, and in that moment, everything just felt very overwhelming. I honestly didn’t know how to handle it.”
On whether missing the quad Axel started the unraveling:
“I wouldn’t say it necessarily threw me off. I knew I didn’t need a perfect program. I still could have had a really good skate. But then more mistakes happened. I don’t know exactly what it was specifically — I’m still trying to understand. So I don’t really have a clear answer yet.”
On congratulating Mikhail Shaidorov:
“I actually went up to him and congratulated him. I watched him skate from the locker room, and I’m just so proud of him. I heard he didn’t have the best season. We’re all in this sport together, and we’re there for each other. That’s what makes this sport special.
I think people forget that sometimes. They only see us competing and assume we’re rivals without good relationships. But it’s actually the opposite. There’s joy, motivation, encouragement — we’re like a big family.”
#FigureSkating #MilanoCortina2026 #Olympics #WinterOlympics
@midorimoonlight His name is Kusaka.
He sharpened all the chipped blades from the team competition medal ceremony, getting them ready in time for this individual event.
He's the key figure behind the delicate dance of this year's All-Japan team members' skating.⛸️