Team USA's Ilia Malinin making any mistakes on the ice, let alone missing multiple combinations and taking two falls while attempting quads, couldn't have been further from what everyone expected during this year's Winter Olympics.
Unfortunately for him, instead of taking home gold this year, he faced multiple complications on the ice, including several single and double axels where they should have been quadruples, and two significant falls that led to multiple red marks on his routine.
You can watch Malinin's performance here:
- YouTube www.youtube.com
At the end of his routine, Malinin's expression immediately fell, and he held his face in his hands as the audience roared their support. Some even rose from their seats, including Simone Biles, who was caught on camera.
But the pair of falls and several missed combinations were too heavy of a blow, especially for a young-and-hopeful like Ilia Malinin, who had seemed destined to take home gold this year.
Some internet users took the opportunity to be unkind to Malinin, posting bullying comments about his skills and performance on the ice.
After receiving the backlash, Malinin shared an emotional video on Instagram.
The video was a montage of moments throughout his Olympic career so far, featuring clips of the highest of high moments and the lowest of lows. As someone who struggles with his mental health, the low moments were especially low, particularly when he let himself and his fans down, and still had to face the comment sections.
Malinin captioned the video:
"On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside."
"Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind, and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure."
"It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story."
You can watch the video here:
Viewers responded compassionately to the video.
@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
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@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
@ilia_quadg0d_malinin/Instagram
After the video surfaced, fellow Team USA men's figure skater Maxim Naumov spoke up on Malinin's behalf.
"I really just want him to know that we love him, and we care about him."
"His performance and what he did on the ice that day in the free program, it doesn’t define him."
"In those moments, it’s how you respond, and knowing him, I know that he’s going to be OK.”
Any of us who ever tried to participate in a sport can remember the days of learning the rules, trying to perfect the moves, and tearing ourselves down when we made mistakes.
For some reason, when a person becomes a professional athlete, we lose sight of the fact that not only are they performing more complicated tasks than we ever attempted, but that they're also still human and can make mistakes from time to time.
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@kelsgordon/TikTok
@kelsgordon/TikTok
@kelsgordon/TikTok
@kelsgordon/TikTok
