ILIA MALININ has been hailed for the “poise” and “class” he showed after choking the men’s free skating gold medal he was tipped to win.
Malinin, 21, had held a stranglehold on the discipline and arrived at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics on an unbeaten streak dating back to 2023.
The American has also embraced his ‘Quad God’ nickname, born out of the mind-boggling quad axel he became the first skater to land four years ago.
But two shock falls in the free skate wiped out the five-point lead he had built up in the short program – and dropped him all the way down to EIGHTH.
Despite appearing close to tears at the end of his routine and missing out on a medal, Malinin swiftly regained his composure and showed his class.
The skating megastar firstly congratulated Kazakhstan‘s surprise winner, Mikhail Shaidorov, who had been a 100-1 shot leading up to the Games.
And then he faced the media, where he was peppered with tough questions.
Malinin said, “It’s a lot to handle. The pressure of the Olympics really is something different.
“I felt like I was ready, but it just went by so fast. Mentally, it was a weird feeling.
“I had so many thoughts and memories flood in right before I got into my starting pose. It might have overwhelmed me a little bit.
“I’m still so grateful that I was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am. But it was not the skate that I wanted.
“I just blew it. It just didn’t happen for me. I just need to look to the future and make sure this never happens again.”
A medal may have slipped through Malinin’s fingers but he earned a boatload of new admirers.
Impressed fans flocked to social media to praise his conduct in a highly emotional aftermath.
One X user wrote, “Big kudos to Malinin for answering with such poise and grace after one of the worst moments of his young life.”
Another posted, “That was impressive to watch. Incredible poise for a 21-yr-old.”
A third commented, “That kid can wear the American flag with pride. He is just 21, had a lifetime heartbreaking moment in front of the entire world, and showed immense class in immediately congratulating the champ AND stepping up for an interview.”
A fourth replied, “Credit him for manning up for an interview afterwards. That had to be difficult.”
And another chimed in with, “All class from the Quad God.”
Source: https://www.the-sun.com/sport/15942412/ilia-malinin-interview-figure-skating-winter-olympics/