Ilia Malinin postpones press conference a day after eighth-place Olympic finish

A judging controversy erupts at the Winter Olympics after a French judge is accused of giving a boosted score to the home country in the ice dance final, potentially costing Team USA gold.

U.S. Olympic skater Ilia Malinin did not hold his scheduled media session Saturday. The session was postponed, according to Christine Brennan. 

The postponement comes one day after Malinin finished eighth in the men's free skate. The American star was the frontrunner to win gold but fell twice during his performance, shocking fans and pundits. 

Malinin's folly was considered one of the most unexpected stories of the Winter Olympics since he dominated competition prior to Friday. 

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Ilia Malinin of the United States competes during the men's free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 13, 2026. (Ashley Landis/AP Photo)

Malinin revealed his mind became flooded with "thoughts and memories" before his performance.

"I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit. I've been through a lot in my life, a lot of bad and good experiences," Malinin told NBC Washington after the competition Friday. 

"So, I just feel like it's the pressure of especially being that Olympic gold medal hopeful. It was just something I can't control now.

"The pressure of the Olympics, it's really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that. They only understand that from the inside and going into this competition, especially today, I felt really confident, really good," he said. "But it really just went by so fast I did not have time to process." 

POW