SURPRISE IN MILAN CORTINA 2026: ILIA MALININ OFF THE PODIUM IN FIGURE SKATING

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The American skater had to settle for eighth place in the Individual Figure Skating event, despite being the favorite. Nerves and two falls left him without a medal. First place went to Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, second Yuma Kagiyama and third to Shun Sato, both from Japan.

Mexico’s Donovan Carrillo finished in 22nd place.

In the team event, Ilia Malinin surprised the whole world when he performed a backflip, a backward somersault, a maneuver that had been banned for 50 years. It was a performance that bordered on perfection and led Team USA to win the gold medal at Milano Cortina 2026.

For this reason, Malinin was undoubtedly the favorite to win the gold medal in the individual event.

However, that favorite status put too much pressure on him in the grand final. Two falls, and without showing the neatness he had demonstrated in previous days at the Ice Park in Milan, led him to settle for eighth place.

The overall winner of the event was Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov with 291.58 points, who took the gold medal. The silver and bronze went to Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama with 280.06 and Shun Sato with 274.90, respectively.

DONOVAN CARRILLO FINISHES IN 22ND PLACE

The eyes of the American continent were also on the great Mexican figure skating star who made a name for himself at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, becoming the first skater from his country to reach a final in this discipline.

Donovan Carrillo qualified in 23rd place and in this free program final, with a selection of Elvis Presley music, he scored 219.06, achieving 22nd place, repeating his performance in Beijing four years ago.

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 13: Donovan Carrillo of Team Mexico competes in the Men Single Skating on day seven of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Ice Skating Arena on February 13, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)