Ilia Malinin was feeling the love and support after a disappointing showing at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The 21-year-old figure skater representing Team USA was considered a frontrunner for medaling in Italy this year. Malinin did help the skating team collect a gold in the figure skating team event early in the Games.
However, two stumbles in the men’s figure skating contest left him off the podium with an eighth-place finish on Friday, Feb. 13.
Speaking with NBC Sports’ Mike Tirico on Wednesday, Feb. 17, Malinin described the experience as “devastating” but highlighted the support that he’d received from fellow American athletes.
“Everyone was there for me. I had so many different people reach out to me,” he said, continuing by listing Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Simone Biles and rapper Snoop Dogg. “I’m honestly just so honored for that, and I feel like it just made my day, honestly.”
Malinin added that the days after his loss had been filled with “a lot of ups and downs,” explaining, “Of course, after the free skate it was a little hard at first. Then trying to realize what happened and how devastating it really was.”
Speaking about the competition and his performance, Malinin explained that the pressure of the Games was unlike anything he had ever experienced before. That reality changed the way he felt while skating.
“I was not expecting it to feel that way, but definitely getting on that ice, it felt like… Usually, I feel like I’m in control and everything just lines up where it should be,” he said. “But that time, it really just felt like it was speeding ahead of me, and I didn’t have time to catch up and get back together.”
While he wasn’t thrilled with the outcome, it’s a learning experience for him so that he can come back to the Olympics in the future and not have the same things happen.
For Malinin, he was particularly able to relate to Biles, telling NBC that they’ve charted “a similar path.”
Biles, a seven-time gold medalist, famously withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after suffering a bout of the “twisties,” an experience where gymnasts lose spatial awareness while executing flips midair.
Reflecting on her decision, Malinin said, “She just had to get through there and understand what happened to not have that happen in the future, honestly.”
Biles, 28, returned for the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she won three of her gold medals and collected a silver medal, as well.
During his interview with Tirico, Malinin highlighted his gold in the team event as a standout moment for him at the Games.
“It’s definitely something that will help me not feel the worst from my Olympic experience and really just shows how grateful I should be for even stepping on the ice for that team event,” he shared. “It was something that I was not sure I was going to do. But making the decision pretty close to the deadline, I’m so grateful that me and all the other teammates.”
“We just fought and put so much energy and all of it into that skate,” Malinin continued. “It’s what gave us this gold medal, and I’m never going to forget that.”