Ilia Malinin did not speak to reporters as planned at the Winter Olympics on Saturday. The American figure skater chose to postpone (or cancel) his prescheduled media day after the catastrophic collapse during the individual competition.
He was set up to fail!
The bright lights of the Olympics ultimately proved to be too much for the 21-year-old, who was also impacted by poor ice conditions. Malinin should not be faulted for skipping out on the next day’s event.
Ilia Malinin is mortal.
If Malinin was not a household name prior to his first Olympic Games, he is now. The man they call “Quad God” was billed as the United States’ best athlete and biggest lock for a gold medal.
He is a two-time world champion and three-time Grand Prix Final champion. He is the top-ranked figure skater in the world. His competitors cannot do what he does. There is no one better.
Ilia Malinin is the only athlete to successfully land a quad axel during international competition. His most difficult routine is the only routine in figure skating history to feature seven quad jumps.
Hence the nickname.
Most major sportsbooks listed Malinin with -10,000 betting odds to win a gold medal. That number implies a 99% probability of victory. The remaining 1% was just in case he finished with silver or bronze.
Nobody expected him to miss the podium all together but Malinin completely fell apart during the individual figure skating competition on Friday and finished eighth. It was a disastrous performance.
Although there is no excuse for what happened, Malinin was one of many skaters to be impacted by terrible ice conditions at the Milano Ice Skating Arena over the last seven days. He also collapsed under the pressure.
He did not attend his media day at the Olympics.
Before we go any further here, it must be noted that Ilia Malinin graciously spoke with the media on Friday after his competition. He addressed his performance and owned his shortcomings.
That was not the case on Saturday and for good reason.
Because the Quad God was such a lock to win the gold medal, a media day was scheduled on his behalf for the day after individual competition. It was supposed to be a celebration of his victory. He was going to answer questions about his greatness. Failure was not even a consideration.
And then he failed.
Malinin chose not to hold his media day as scheduled on Saturday after finishing eighth. He instead decided to spend time with his United States teammates and other athletes in the Olympic Village.
Critics of Malinin will question why he planned a media day prior to the competition and mock him for bailing after a loss, but it is logical to assume that it was planned on his behalf. This should not be held against him.
Rather, this should be a lesson.
The media anointed Ilia Malinin as a God, which fed his ego. He was held on a pedestal and it created an insurmountable amount of pressure that led to his collapse. And despite this, the American figure skater always showed respect toward the other skaters. They appreciate his kindness.
To hold a media day for Malinin on Saturday would’ve put him in a terrible position. Let him live.