Olympic Heartbreak: Chan and Browning Reflect on Malinin’s Stunning Collapse

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics witnessed a shocking upset in men’s figure skating, as American Ilia Malinin, widely favored to win gold, plummeted to eighth place after a disastrous free skate. The stunning collapse resonated with past Olympic competitors, including Canadian legends Patrick Chan and Kurt Browning, who shared their own experiences with Olympic pressure, and heartbreak.

Malinin’s Disappointment

Entering the Games as the overwhelming favorite, Malinin, nicknamed the “Quad God,” had secured 14 consecutive victories over more than two years. Although, his performance during the free skate was marred by two falls and the successful completion of only three of his planned seven quadruple jumps, dropping him from first to fifteenth in the free program and ultimately to eighth overall.

Echoes of Past Heartbreak

Patrick Chan, a three-time world champion, recounted his own near-miss at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. Despite a mistake-filled program from his rival Yuzuru Hanyu, Chan faltered in his free skate, settling for silver. He described the lingering impact of that moment, emphasizing the immense mental toll the Olympics can take on athletes. “It’s such a human thing to be this close to victory,” Chan noted, highlighting how mental strain can affect performance.

Kurt Browning, a four-time world champion, also related to Malinin’s experience, recalling his own struggles at the 1992 and 1994 Games where falls in his short programs prevented him from reaching the podium. “I am one of the few people in the world who knows what it’s like to go on the Olympic ice, and not have it go your way,” Browning said. He is currently calling figure skating on CBC’s broadcast.

The Unique Pressure of the Olympics

Both Chan and Browning emphasized the unique pressures of competing at the Olympics, an event that occurs only once every four years and attracts a global audience. Browning described the feeling of confidence before a performance giving way to unexpected falters, stating, “You just don’t have it sometimes.” He added, “And the part where you don’t have it sneaks up on you.”

Chan suggested that the intense media attention surrounding Malinin, including interviews and appearances in the Olympic Village, may have contributed to the pressure. He also pointed to the mental strain of the six-minute warm-up and the 45-minute wait before performing, especially with the knowledge that gold was within reach.

The Quad Axel and a Spiraling Routine

Malinin’s attempt at a quad axel – a jump he is uniquely capable of landing – during his free skate may have been a turning point. After singling the jump, his routine began to unravel. “It felt rushed, and then that was just the catalyst to the rest falling apart,” Chan explained. “All of a sudden, you start pulling back, and you’re like, ‘Oh wow. I don’t trust myself anymore.'”

Browning observed that once a mistake occurs, it can trigger a cascade of further errors. “And then what happens is that you make another mistake because you’re in shock. You make another mistake because you’re trying too hard, and then you make another mistake because you’re being careful. You’re literally not running on instinct anymore.”

Looking Ahead

Despite the disappointment, Chan expressed confidence that Malinin would learn from the experience and emerge stronger. “The grit and the success come later on how he’s going to recover from this,” he said. “He’s young, he’s going to go to probably two more Olympics, and he is going to look back on this moment and be like, wow, I was so young and immature in a way. But we all went through that.”

Both Chan and Browning agreed that the Olympics present a unique and often unpredictable challenge for even the most prepared athletes. As Chan succinctly put it, “That’s the Olympics.”