The men’s figure skating free skate ended with one of most shocking finishes to happen these Olympic Games.
Ilia Malinin entered his final performance with a gold medal seemingly secured after his biggest competitors suffered numerous falls and errors. He ended his performance, however, completely off the podium.
Malinin’s uncharacteristic skate was unlike anything he has done in recent memory.
Halfway through his program, it became clear his gold medal chances were at risk.
“We said he could win it with mistakes, but how many mistakes?” Olympian and commentator Johnny Weir said.
But as things progressed, his shot at any medal seemed threatened.
“He had an advantage but not that big an advantage,” Weir said.
Malinin finished his final moves with tears streaming down his face.
“A remidner that nothing is certain in sports,” commentator Terry Gannon said.
“This is heartbreaking for Ilia and you can see it on his face. That was shocking,” Olympic gold medalist and commentator Tara Lipinski said.
And Malinin was equally shocked.
As he awaited his score, he could be heard saying if he was on the 2022 Beijing Olympic team, he “wouldn’t have skated like that.”
“It’s not easy,” he said.
His performance landed him a score of 156.33, for a total of 264.49. Eighth place.
“I can’t process what just happened,” Malnin said just moments after the stunning upset, saying he felt “too confident” going into the performance.
Friday’s skate was Malinin’s second gold medal shot, his grand finale of sorts for the Winter Olympics.
The 21-year-old American phenom, who has faced a noticeable amount of pressure during the Games, admitted he hadn’t skated like himself heading into the final event, despite his stunning performances in both the team skates and short program.
Both of his skates in the team event were mediocre by only his lofty standards. But he felt much more comfortable during his short program, and it was reflected on the ice, where his score of 108.16 was less than a point off his world-leading mark this season.
But on Friday, he again cited the weight of the mental pressure.
“I think it was definitely mental, just now finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere,” he said. “It’s crazy. It’s not like any other competition.”
The men’s free skate event will re-air in primetime on NBC starting at 7:30 p.m. CT.
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