Ilia Malinin Fell Twice: Heartbreaking Falls Captured on Video
Team USA Olympic standout Ilia Milanin delivered a heartbreaking performance while competing for individual gold at the Milan-Cortina Olympics on February 13.
He fell. Twice.
According to CNN, Milanin "missed out on a medal and placed eighth in the men’s figure skating final after falling on the ice." The performance left him in tears. He "landed a backflip" but didn't even try his signature quadruple axel, according to CNN. The falls were captured in a series of photos.
"I cried in the middle of a mall after I watched Ilia Malinin fall. Guys what just happened to our quad god? I feel awful for him," a fan wrote on X.
Ilia Malinin on his 8th-place finish and his fall at the #Olympics2026pic.twitter.com/7ExlEnhOw4 https://t.co/eCEhyH9g8q
— The Ultimate Lineup (@TheUltLineup_) February 13, 2026
"It's a lot to handle. The pressure of the Olympics is really something different," Malinin said, adding that he felt he was ready at practice.
Fans Shared Video Showing the Moment That Ilia Malinin Falls
Fans shared video of the falls on social media.
"I didn't have time process what really went down," Malinin explained later, adding that "mentally it was a weird feeling just going into the program."
The Fall of Ilia Malinin. Two falls in nearly identical locations. pic.twitter.com/7Khxd8Qmcu
— Steve Futterman (@sfutterman) February 13, 2026
Malinin said that he had "so many thoughts" that he felt the thoughts "overwhelmed me." He felt the pressure of being the "Olympic gold medal hopeful" played a role in the falls.
Ilia Malinin Shocked Fans, Who Weren't Expecting to See Him Fall
(Photo by Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images)
Malinin's performance, called "stunning" by CNN, "included two falls and some technical gaffes."
People expressed shock over the falls on social media. "Ilia Malinin also fell, so this final shouldn’t be real, just kill this sport WHAT IS HAPPENING," wrote one person on X.
(Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
"Oh, I feel sooooo bad for Ilia Malinin, poor poor kid :(((" another person wrote. "I’m so sad for Ilia Malinin To get this far and be there consistently amazing and have it all fall apart at the end That’s devastating," another fan wrote.
Ilia Malinin Is the Only Figure Skater to Have Landed a Quadruple Axel
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Malinin slowly built his profile in competitions.
"His first international season at junior level came in 2019/20, where he competed at the World Junior Championships and finished 16th. What would have been his second season internationally was disrupted by the pandemic; he competed at Skate America as a senior in a modified event and landed the quadruple toeloop and quadruple Salchow," his Olympics bio says.
The bio says that his parents both competed in two past Olympics for the country of Uzbekistan. They are his coaches, according to the bio.
OH. MY. QUAD. ????
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) September 15, 2022
17-year-old Ilia Malinin just landed the first quad Axel in history!
????: @USFigureSkating pic.twitter.com/HHjFcd3JhE
His Olympics.com bio notes: “The young American, born to Olympic figure skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, is the only skater male or female to have successfully landed the quadruple Axel, skating’s most difficult jump, in competition. The self-proclaimed ‘quad god,’ a nickname he has also chosen for his social media handles, is also the only man to have attempted seven quadruple jumps in a routine.”
The bio adds, “Coached by his parents, who represented Uzbekistan at the Nagano 1998 and Salt Lake City 2002 Winter Olympics, Malinin has taken the figure skating world by storm. He began skating aged six and won various medals nationally and internationally at the age-group levels.”