Figure skating-Malinin's Olympic dreams come to crashing halt at Milano Cortina Games

MILAN, Feb 13 : The pressure had been building, the glare of Olympic expectation, the scrutiny of a sport that demands not only athletic precision but artistic perfection. And on Friday, all of it came crashing down on Ilia Malinin.

The American phenom, considered virtually untouchable and a near-certain gold medallist, unravelled in stunning fashion in the men's free programme at the Milano Cortina Olympics. 

Malinin landed only three of his seven planned quadruple jumps, fell twice, and watched in disbelief as more than two years of competitive dominance dissolved into an eighth‑place finish.

"In the moment, it definitely felt like not only nerves, but maybe the ice was also not the best condition for what I would like to have," he told a throng of reporters, half a dozen deep. "That's not an excuse, we're all put in that situation, but the nerves were just so overwhelming. 

"Going into my starting pose, all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head. So many negative thoughts rushed in, and I just did not handle it."

Only two months ago, the 21-year-old laid down a jaw-dropping performance at the Grand Prix Final, landing seven quads, including the quadruple Axel, to smash his own world record score in the free programme.

On Friday, his planned quad Axel - a jump only he has ever landed in competition - turned into a single, prompting gasps from the crowd. He ended up getting a score of 156.33 that was a shocking 80-plus points less than that stunning Grand Prix skate. 

The two-times world champion, who was not nearly at his best in the team event either, admitted he "still hasn't been able to process" what transpired, despite feeling prepared and confident heading into the day. 

Some of the quads,