MILAN — The comparisons were immediate, undeniable and haunting. When Ilia Malinin shockingly stumbled across the ice in his long program Friday night at the Winter Olympic Games, who didn’t think of Simone Biles battling the “twisties” and withdrawing from the gymnastics team competition four and a half years earlier at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, especially with Biles herself in the arena watching?
Both were high-profile athletes carrying the burden of great expectations for themselves, their families, their teammates and their nation. Both then found themselves dealing with, and reeling from, the awfulness that exists on social media, even as they rely on it to tell their stories, please their sponsors and bring fans along for the ride.
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More: Like Simone Biles, Winter Olympians can experience ‘twisties,’ too
For those who say athletes like Malinin, Biles, skier Lindsey Vonn and others are too focused on promoting themselves, consider the relatively small window available for Olympians to make money.
The commercial deals they get almost always come before the Olympics. When the Games end, some receive more endorsements and speaking opportunities, but mostly, the sports world moves on without them, turning in this case to the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments and the upcoming baseball season. There is incredible pressure on an Olympian to make money before and during the Games, because nothing is certain afterward.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Men’s singles figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics is concluded today, as 21-year-old Ilia Malinin had a disastrous performance. Check out these amazing moments from the final event.
Ilia Malinin of United States performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Men’s singles figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics is concluded today, as 21-year-old Ilia Malinin had a disastrous performance. Check out these amazing moments from the final event.
Ilia Malinin of United States performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin of United States performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin of the United States of America tries to regain his footing in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin of Team United States falls over in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin of Team United States falls over in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin of Team United States reacts after competing in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Maxim Naumov of Team USA performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Adam Siao Him Fa of Team France competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Italy’s Daniel Grassl competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Mikhail Shaidorov of Team Kazakhstan competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Junhwan Cha of South Korea competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
France’s Kevin Aymoz competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Andrew Torgashev of United States performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Shun Sato of Team Japan competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Stephen Gogolev of Team Canada competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Petr Gumennik of Team Individual Neutral Athletes competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Maxim Naumov of Team United States competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
USA’s Maxim Naumov competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
USA’s Maxim Naumov reacts in the kiss and cry area after competing in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
China’s Jin Boyang competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Nika Egadze of Team Georgia competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Matteo Rizzo of Team Italy competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Deniss Vasiljevs of Latvia performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Aleksandr Selevko of Estonia performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Lukas Britschgi of Team Switzerland competes in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Vladimir Samoilov of Poland performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Adam Hagara of Slovakia performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Kao Miura of Japan performs in the Men’s Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Donovan Carrillo of Mexico performs in the Men Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
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Amazing moments from Men’s Figure Skating finals with Ilia Malinin
Yu-Hsiang Li of Taiwan performs in the Men Single Skating free skate during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan.
And for those older Olympians from another era who privately think athletes today should just deal with the pressure as they themselves once did, social media has changed everything. Anyone can attach themselves to Malinin or Biles or Vonn in a post. It’s there for all to see, including the athlete, the moment they look at their phone.
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Thinking back to Tokyo, Biles said on a 2024 episode of the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she thought, “The world is going to hate me, and I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now. … I thought I was going to be banned from America because that’s what they tell you: Don’t come back. If it’s not gold, gold or bust, don’t come back.”
More: Ilia Malinin tried to handle Olympic pressure. But sometimes, it’s too much
Several decades ago, a negative newspaper critique of an Olympian, even from a big paper at the height of the Games, could go unread and ignored by the athlete until after he or she competed — and maybe never even read at all.
On Monday, the Olympic Games woke up to this Instagram post from the 21-year-old Malinin:
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“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside. Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure. It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story.”
He finished this way: “Coming February 21, 2026,” a reference believed to be about his performance in the Olympic figure skating gala Saturday. It will be his first time in front of an audience since his poor performance on the final night of men’s skating, dropping him out of the medals to eighth place.
The exhibition skate will perhaps be the most watched in Olympic figure skating history. But with his Instagram post Monday, he has already ensured that a high-profile conversation about mental health will command center stage during the second week of these Games.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ilia Malinin’s mental health battle isn’t unusual for Olympic superstars