Superstar figure skater Ilia Malinin grabbed headlines for all the wrong reasons at the 2026 Winter Olympics Milano-Cortina. He’s got company now.
The self-dubbed “quad god” entered the men’s figure skating competition as the overwhelming favorite and two-time defending world champion. Malinin fell multiple times during his free skate and missed the podium entirely, finishing eighth.
It was the biggest collapse of the games for Team USA – even worse than Mikaela Shiffrin’s performance in the team combined skiing event.
That title just changed hands.
Team USA Speed Skating Loses Men’s Pursuit In Brutal Fashion
Casey Dawson, Emery Lehman, and Ethan Cepuran had absolutely dominated the men’s team pursuit speed skating race over the past year. The trio holds the world record.
They entered Milano-Cortina on a six-race win streak, with every victory coming by at least two seconds.
Gold seemed like a formality.
After losing to Italy in the qualifying round, Team USA still advanced to the semifinals as the second seed. They cruised past China, though the short break between the semifinals and medal round likely meant the Chinese team didn’t push at full capacity.
The final started well enough — Team USA built nearly a one-second lead halfway through.
Then it all fell apart.
Malinin levels of "blew it" here.
WR holders, undefeated all year, three guys who prioritize this race above all and they lose twice to Italy by a combined six seconds beating a sandbagging China in-between.
Not a silver to celebrate. #TeamUSA #MilanCortina2026 https://t.co/lqF10Etdri
— Dan Barwick (@Barwickipedia) February 17, 2026
Italy absolutely destroyed the U.S. over the back half of the race, shaving more than five seconds off their deficit and cruising to victory. The Americans took silver.
This wasn’t just an upset — it was an embarrassment. A team that had dominated the rest of the world for a full year got dismantled when it mattered most. Dawson, Lehman, and Cepuran had made this race their priority above everything else.
Compared to this? Malinin’s collapse looks like bad luck.