American figure skating star Ilia Malinin endured a dramatic collapse in the men’s free skate on Friday night, falling twice and tumbling out of medal contention at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov surged to a surprise gold medal.
Malinin, the reigning world champion widely known as the sport’s most daring jumper, entered the free skate with a commanding lead following the short programme. The 21-year-old appeared set to add individual Olympic gold to the team title he had already helped secure for the United States earlier in the Games.
Instead, the skater nicknamed the “Quad God” struggled through one of the most difficult performances of his career. Two costly falls left the crowd at the Milano Ice Arena stunned as his title hopes slipped away.
“Honestly, I still haven’t been able to process what just happened,” Malinin said afterwards. “Going into this competition, I felt really good this whole day. Feeling really solid. I just thought that all I needed to do was trust the process that I’ve always been doing.
“But it’s not like any other competition. It’s the Olympics,” he added. “I think people don’t realise the pressure and the nerves that actually happen from the inside. It was really just something that overwhelmed me and I just felt like I had no control.”
Shaidorov capitalised on the opportunity, delivering the skate of his life to secure a career-best total of 291.58 points and claim Olympic gold.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama took silver for the second consecutive Games, while teammate Shun Sato secured bronze.
Malinin ultimately dropped to eighth place with 264.49 points, bringing to an end a remarkable unbeaten run spanning more than two years, including 14 consecutive competitions and two world championship titles.
Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of blaming Kabul for its domestic political and security problems, as Islamabad repeated claims that militants are...
Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) carried 419,000 connecting passengers through Baku in the first nine months of 2026, up 29 per cent year on year, highli...
An explosion and fire have been reported at a major underground gas pipeline in Russia’s Penza region on 13 October, according to UA News, as...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said late Monday that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
An explosion and fire have been reported at a major underground gas pipeline in Russia’s Penza region on 13 October, according to UA News, as cited by Azerbaijan’s APA news agency. The reports have not been independently verified.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia hit at least six energy targets in deadly strikes across Ukraine, showing Moscow is unwilling to accept the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined high school students protesting outside a school in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis on Tuesday, as a wave of student demonstrations continues across France.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has visited a newly opened defence museum displaying weapons developed under his leadership, including an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the United States.
Southeast Asian foreign ministers are set to discuss measures to tackle transboundary haze during preparatory meetings ahead of the ASEAN summit in November, as forest and land fires in Indonesia continue to affect air quality across the region, the Philippines said on Tuesday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment