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DOBBIACO, Italy — Ilia Malinin had been unbeatable for more than two years, until Friday night at the Milan Cortina Olympics.
On the biggest stage, the American figure skating star nicknamed the “Quad God” saw that streak come to a shocking end. Shocking not just because he was defeated, but because of how.
The 21-year-old Malinin had the lead entering the final portion of the men’s competition, but turned in an error-filled free skate that not only prevented him from winning gold, but also knocked him off the podium entirely. He finished eighth, as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov took gold ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato.
Here’s a look at how Malinin’s deflating night unfolded.
Quad flip
The beginning was typical Malinin precision. His first big element was a quad flip, and he was nearly flawless with it. “Effortless start,” NBC Sports commentator Tara Lipinski said of the jump.
Malinin performs a quad jump during Friday’s routine. (Fabrizio Carabelli / PA Images via Getty Images)
Quad axel
Next up was his patented quad axel, the most difficult of all the jumps and one that the sport “once considered impossible,” Lipinski said. Starting facing forward, it requires an extra half-turn to complete. Malinin has made it his specialty, but on Friday, he bailed on the planned rotations after his feet left the ground. He landed cleanly, but it was only a single turn in the air.
It was a costly mistake, but it was still very early.
Malinin had difficulties with his quad-heavy routine, easing off the rotations on multiple jumps. (Fabrizio Carabelli / PA Images via Getty Images)
Quad lutz
Malinin seemed to put the error behind him on his next element. The lutz is the second-most difficult jump, and he nailed it, getting a cheer from the crowd.
Quad loop
The problems returned in the next quad attempt. Going for a quad loop, Malinin again eased off in mid-air and only did a double, frowning as he came out of it. With two massive jumps missed, Malinin had cost himself somewhere around 30 points in the technical score.
“We don’t usually see Ilia make mistakes like this,” Lipinski said.
Camel spin and step sequence
Malinin took a break from jumping in the middle of the routine and performed some lower-point artistic maneuvers. After a camel spin, he took a big breath and exhaled sharply. He executed well, but he would have to be near-perfect from here to win a medal.
Quad lutz
Instead, it only got worse. The routine collapsed on another quad lutz try. Malinin got the spins in this time, but on the landing, he fell to the ice on his hands and rear end — another massive loss of points all but sunk his chances.
“It is not often to see Ilia Malinin fall,” Lipinski said.
The first of Malinin’s two falls. (Wang Zhao / AFP via Getty Images)
Quad toe + triple flip
Malinin was then mostly clean on a quad toe loop followed by a triple flip. The crowd rose again, hoping to urge him to a fantastic finish, but Johnny Weir, co-commentating with Lipinski for NBC Sports, summed up the dire picture for Malinin.
“We said he could win it with mistakes,” Weir said. “But how many mistakes?”
Quad salchow
On his final jump attempt, Malinin combined the errors of his previous jumps. Not only did he ease off his rotations — making only a double — but he also fell to the ice, leaving NBC’s commentators mostly speechless.
“Oh my gosh,” was all play-by-play voice Terry Gannon said, or had to say.
Malinin’s second fall. (Piero Cruciatti / AFP via Getty Images)
The ending
Malinin performed his usual crowd-pleasing backflip, but it didn’t provide the same jolt coming at the end of such a tough performance. As he wrapped up his choreographic sequence, Weir noted the large discrepancy between his and Shaidorov’s technical scores — Shaidorov had a lead of more than 37 points.
Usually a celebratory flourish on a big routine, Malinin’s backflip had a different tone Friday. (Image Photo Agency / Getty Images)
“Malinin had an advantage,” Weir said, “but not that big an advantage.”
Malinin put his hands to his face instantly when it was over, certainly knowing he hadn’t done enough. With an anguished look, he skated off the ice.
Malinin appeared to know as soon as it was over that his medal hopes were gone. (Wang Zhao / AFP via Getty Images)
“A reminder that nothing is certain in sports,” Gannon said. “There’s no such thing as inevitable.”
Moments later, the scores rolled in. Malinin had not only missed gold but the entire podium. The man who hadn’t lost to anyone in more than two years lost to seven people in this competition. As he walked off the arena floor, Malinin stopped to congratulate Shaidorov.
Mikhail Shaidorov, who won gold, was in disbelief after Malinin’s scores made it official. (Wang Zhao / AFP via Getty Images)
And then he was off to the locker room. His first stop was with NBC Sports’ Andrea Joyce, where he broke down his own skate.
“I think it was definitely mental,” the first-time Olympian said. “Now, finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy. It’s not like any other competition. It’s really different.”
It’s four long years until the next one.