Winter Olympics: Ilia Malinin suffers stunning stumble, finishes eighth in figure skating

By Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times

MILAN — He popped the quad axel. He stumbled across the ice. He tried to hide the pained expression.

Ilia Malinin fell apart in the men’s free skate, tumbling from near lock to win the gold medal to eighth place after a disastrous performance Friday. After his music ended, Malinin covered his anguished face. It was the first time since November 2023 that he hadn’t won a competition.

“I blew it,” Malinin told NBC immediately after the performance.