“It seemed that Malinin was emotionally burned out – he had spent too much energy, participating in various Olympic activities during his free time from training,” sports journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya
Russian sports journalist Elena Vaytsekhovskaya evaluated two-time world champion Ilia Malinin’s performance in the team event at the 2026 Olympic Games.
original source: RT dd. 9th January
Sports journalist and Olympic champion Elena Vaytsekhovskaya analyzed Ilia Malinin’s performances at the 2026 Olympic team event, noting his emotional fatigue but praising his technical strength, which secured victory despite not being at his best. Here’s a translation of her comment.
In the short program, the American placed second, losing to Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama by more than 10 points, but in the free skate, he won, finishing just over 5 points ahead of Shun Sato.
“Ilia, without a doubt, did not skate to his full potential. It didn’t even look like he was intentionally saving energy, using only 50% of his abilities (as the skater himself said after the short program). Rather, it seemed that Malinin was emotionally burned out – he had spent too much energy over the previous ten days, participating in various Olympic activities during his free time from training.
Why he needed to arrive with such a margin for a competition where even very experienced athletes can be completely drained is another question. But in the short program, the athlete was emotionally empty. And that immediately affected the quality of his skating.
The free skate also didn’t leave the usual impression. But credit must be given to the skater: his technical reserve is so great that even in such a state, he can secure the points needed for victory.
I don’t think Malinin would have finished second, even if, in the final, he had faced not Shun Sato but Yuma Kagiyama, to whom the American lost more than ten points in the short program. Theoretically, such a scenario was possible, but the Japanese team didn’t make that substitution for nothing. It’s logical to assume that Yuma didn’t feel he had the strength to deliver two all-out programs and then skate the short program in the individual event two days later. And that’s another story about having a technical reserve,” Vaytsekhovskaya wrote in her column for RT.
Related topics: Ilia Malinin, Olympic Games
He is trying to improve, and, compared to three years ago, he has. Doesn’t make him an artist though. And I just absolutely despise the horrendous, pretentious voice overs in his FS.
50% or not, he knows he didn’t give the *wow* performance in either the short or the FS. Yuma brought the house down in the short, Shun was at his best in the FS (except for maybe that final spin), and obviously Matteo had the crowd going and creating his Olympic moment.
Then again, Ilia has shown nerves of steel in the past, so who knows what’s gonna happen..
Malinin did not deserve to be in first place. He also did not deserve to receive higher PCS scores than Sato Shun. Malinin has close to zero artistry. He jumps. That’s about it. Technically gifted. Artistically not. To give a sloppy program and to win first place for it? Disgusting judging.