If there's an American Olympic athlete who can relate to whatIlia Malininwent through on Friday, Feb. 13, it would be Simone Biles.
Malinin — nicknamed "The Quad God" — entered the2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympicsas the favorite in the men's figure skating competition — he was a two-time reigning world champion and four-time U.S. national champion. But, there's a different level of pressure to perform on the Olympic stage.Malinin's long program turned into a nightmare, and the skater finished outside of the medals in eighth place.
At the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Biles — a seven-time Olympic gold medalist — entered those Games with expectations to win five gold medals, onlyto struggle with the "twisties" andwithdraw from some events. She went home withsilver (team event)andbronze (balance beam)medals.
Biles was in attendanceat Milano Ice Skating Arena for Malinin's disappointing long program on Feb. 13, after whichMalinin admitted that he "was not ready to handle"the Olympic pressure.
In the aftermath of Malinin's upsetting performance, Biles was among a number ofnotable athletes who reached out to him, and the two spoke on Tuesday, Feb. 17.
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"Just for someone to validate his feelings and to know we've gone through the same things, but you can still come out on top,"Biles told Olympics.com. "While I was telling him some of what I thought he might be going through or how to move forward from this, he was like, 'Exactly this. Exactly.' He was like, 'You finally just said it.'"
Ilia Malinin was the gold medal favorite entering the 2026 Winter Olympics but the self-proclaimed "Quad God" had a disastrous free skate performance, falling twice and suffering an epic meltdown on the sport's biggest stage.See the critical moments in his troubled routine." style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />
Ilia Malinin falls apart, fails to medal in men's figure skating
Ilia Malininwas the gold medal favorite entering the2026 Winter Olympicsbut the self-proclaimed "Quad God" had a disastrous free skate performance, falling twice and suffering an epic meltdown on the sport's biggest stage.See the critical moments in his troubled routine.
Malinin had a seemingly comfortable five-point lead after the short program, butfell twice and did not fully complete other elementsof his difficult long program.
"I was really worried about how his mental health was going to be," Biles told Olympics.com. "When you're expected to skate a performance of your lifetime and you don't deliver, I worry how that affects his mental (health) and how the world is going to view that.
"I've been through that firsthand and so I really went into protection mode."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Simone Biles encourages Ilia Malinin after Olympics skating disaster
