- - Ilia Malinin congratulates Mikhail Shaidorov after Olympic upset

John Leuzzi, USA TODAY NETWORKFebruary 14, 2026 at 12:03 AM

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Ilia Malinin came up well short of adding another Olympic gold at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics on Friday, as a disastrous free skate performance saw him go from first to eighth place on the leaderboard.

That still didn't stop him from showing good sportsmanship, not allowing his emotions to get the best of him.

Shortly after learning he was left off the podium, NBC's cameras caught Malinin walking over to Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov to congratulate Shaidorov on his Olympic gold medal win.

Olympic sportsmanship at its finest. 🙌 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/ZahQr7pnOo

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 13, 2026

REQUIRED READING: Ilia Malinin's Olympic nightmare just played out with a terrible performance

It was a classy move by the 21-year-old U.S. figure skater, who showed that his close relationship with Shaidorov still mattered despite his emotions following defeat in an event he was the favorite in heading into Milan.

Malinin, who entered the day with a lead of more than five points following his short program, scored a 156.33 in his free skate, which dropped him down to eighth place with a total score of 264.49. It was the first loss for Malinin, who attends George Mason University and is majoring in exploratory studies in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, since November 2023.

"I blew it," he told NBC's Andrea Joyce after his event. "That's honestly the first thing that came to my mind. ... I have no words, honestly."

Shaidorov posted career-best scores in both the free skate (198.64) and the overall men's singles event to win his first Olympic medal in his career.

Mikhail Shaidorov's excellent performance gives him the Gold in Men's Figure Skating! pic.twitter.com/7HXLhp2W6U

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 13, 2026

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ilia Malinin congratulates Mikhail Shaidorov on Olympics win

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