Mikaela Shiffrin has offered words of support to fellow Team USA athlete Ilia Malinin following his difficult experience at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.
Malinin, one of the biggest stars in figure skating, entered the Games with enormous expectations after establishing himself as one of the sport’s most dominant competitors. Known by the nickname “Quad God” for his extraordinary ability to land quadruple jumps, the 21-year-old was widely regarded as a leading contender in the men’s singles event.
However, his Olympic singles campaign did not go according to plan.
During his free skate, Malinin fell several times, leaving him outside the medals and finishing eighth in the men’s singles competition. His result was particularly striking because he had been undefeated in professional competition since November 2023 before the Olympic event.
Afterwards, Malinin spoke openly about the pressure surrounding the Olympics and admitted that he had been overwhelmed by thoughts and memories immediately before beginning his programme.
The American figure skater later shared a message on social media that highlighted the unseen struggles athletes can experience despite appearing strong on the outside.
Malinin explained that people may see an athlete performing successfully but not understand everything happening away from the competition arena. In an interview, he acknowledged that there was another side of his experience that the public did not always see and that dealing with those pressures was difficult.
His comments resonated with Shiffrin.
The Alpine skiing superstar knows first-hand how intense Olympic expectations can become. At the 2022 Beijing Olympics, Shiffrin endured a difficult Games after failing to finish several races despite arriving as one of the leading contenders. Four years later, she returned to the Olympic stage in Milan-Cortina and won gold in the slalom.
Following Malinin’s struggles, Shiffrin left a heartfelt message of encouragement.
She pointed out that the Olympics demand athletes to take enormous risks in front of a worldwide audience, while also exposing them to criticism and judgments based on a single performance.
Shiffrin told Malinin that Team USA had his back and expressed pride in him, regardless of the result.
Her reaction was significant because it came while she was competing herself. Shiffrin had already experienced the emotional pressure of the Games and was preparing for her own events when she publicly supported her fellow American athlete.
The skier later explained that Olympic moments can become extremely intense because of the huge amount of reaction surrounding every performance. She stressed the importance of athletes recognising their own achievements even when they do not achieve the result they had hoped for.
For Malinin, the disappointment was made more difficult by the expectations surrounding him. His reputation had grown rapidly because of his unprecedented technical ability, including becoming the first athlete to successfully land all six types of quadruple jumps in competition.
Despite the setback, Malinin’s Olympic story was not entirely negative. He was part of the United States team that won gold in the mixed team event, giving him an Olympic gold medal from Milan-Cortina.
Shiffrin’s response therefore went beyond simply reacting to one disappointing performance. Her message highlighted the unpredictable nature of elite sport and the enormous emotional pressure athletes face when competing on the world’s biggest stage.
For Malinin, the experience provided a difficult but important chapter in his young career. For Shiffrin, it was another example of a champion using her own Olympic experiences to show support for a teammate when the spotlight became difficult to handle.
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