Why couldn't Ilia Malinin handle the pressure? Sports psychologists offer their thoughts

When 21-year-old figure skating superstar Ilia Malinin stunned everyone with his subpar performance in the men’s single skating event — falling from first to eighth because of a mistake-filled free skate program — he cited the pressure of the moment as one of the reasons for his struggles.“All of this pressure, all of the media, and just being the Olympic gold hopeful was a lot,” he said immediately after the result.