Ilia Malinin makes Exhibition Gala decision after Olympics letdown

· Yahoo Sports

Ilia Malinin came into these Winter Olympics with a lot riding on him. The 21-year-old had been building toward this moment for a while, and the expectations around him were hard to ignore. Figure skating fans and analysts alike had circled this as his time to announce himself on the Olympic stage.

But the spotlight has a way of exposing things, and his individual event didn’t go the way anyone had in mind.

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Multiple falls, a free skate that came apart at the wrong time, and an eighth-place finish that stung, given everything he’s shown before.

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Malinin is skating in Saturday’s exhibition gala, and according to recent reports, has already made a decision for next month’s world championships in Prague.

“Breaking: Ilia Malinin will skate in the Olympic exhibition gala with top medalists Saturday. He has also decided to compete at the world championships next month in Prague. He is the two-time defending world champion,” USA Today’s Christine Brennan reported.

The gala is typically where medalists perform for the crowd after everything’s been decided. No judges, no rankings, just skating in front of people who want to see more. Malinin’s inclusion after finishing eighth says the organizers are not moving past him, and honestly, neither is the sport.

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He played a real part in Team USA winning gold in the team event, so he’s not leaving Italy empty-handed. That still counts for something. But Prague is where the real answer comes. The world championships next month are where the two-time defending champion gets a proper shot at responding to what happened here.

Ilia Malinin of the United States of America competes in the men’s singles free program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at Milano Ice Skating Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-Imagn Images

That is the stage built for someone carrying his reputation. Nicknamed the “Quad God” for what he does with quadruple jumps, Malinin has spent years turning figure skating into must-watch television.

One rough night in the individual event does not erase that, and he clearly isn’t treating it like it does. The season has one more chapter, and Malinin is already moving toward it.

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