Simone Biles meets Ilia Malinin after shock Winter Olympic collapse
Gymnastics icon Simone Biles has met with American figure skater Ilia Malinin to offer support following his dramatic collapse at the Milan-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
Malinin arrived in Italy as the clear favourite for gold but endured a nightmare free skate, falling twice and failing to execute his signature quadruple axel.
The errors caused the 21-year-old to plummet from first place after the short program to finish eighth in the final standings.
The weight of expectation
Visibly distressed following his performance, the skater later posted a cryptic message on social media addressing the burden of high-stakes competition.
“On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside,” Malinin wrote on Instagram.
“Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure.”
He described the experience as moments flashing before his eyes, resulting in an “inevitable crash”.
Biles enters ‘protection mode’
Biles, who was in the stands for the free skate, immediately recognised the signs of an athlete struggling under the immense weight of global expectation.
The 28-year-old experienced her own high-profile difficulties at the Tokyo Games in 2021, where she withdrew from several events due to the ‘twisties’ – a mental block dangerous to gymnasts.
Having successfully returned to win three golds at Paris 2024, the most decorated gymnast in history felt compelled to contact her compatriot immediately.
“I was really worried about how his mental health was going to be,” Biles told Olympics.com.
“When you’re expected to skate a performance of your lifetime and you don’t deliver, I worry how that affects his mental health and how the world is going to view that.”
Biles admitted she had “been through that first hand” and immediately went into “protection mode”.
Sharing lived experiences
The two American stars met in Milan on Tuesday after Biles decided she needed to offer direct reassurance.
She prepared a list of bullet points to send to the ‘Quad God’ to ensure he knew he had support away from the rink.
“It was really heartbreaking,” Biles said.
“Seeing someone and talking to someone that has gone through the same thing and validating that… He’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes, this is exactly how I feel. This is how to get over it or process it’.”
The seven-time Olympic gold medallist hopes the intervention helped Malinin navigate the immediate aftermath of his disappointment.