These Olympics have not gone according to plan for American figure skater Ilia Malinin.
He walked away from the team event with the first gold medal of his Olympic career. However, in the free skate of the men’s singles, he fell twice and finished eighth as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov took gold. The saga quickly became the biggest domestic story of the Games in the United States.
On Tuesday, Malinin sat down with NBC’s Mike Tirico and discussed the support he has received after his disappointing finish, singling out a few celebrities in particular.
“I had so many different people reach out to me—Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Simone Biles, Snoop [Dogg]. I’m honestly just so honored for that, and I feel like it just made my day honestly.”
Malinin has a decorated singles trophy case, having won two world golds, a world bronze, four U.S. golds, and a U.S. silver.
Despite his Olympic letdown, Malinin assured fans he plans to go out on a high note at Saturday’s closing exhibition gala.
“Just looking forward to the gala. I have something special planned. I hope that I can bring lots of emotion, lots of energy to the rink,” Malinin told Tirico.
More Winter Olympics on Sports Illustrated
- Team USA Men’s Hockey to Face Sweden in Olympic Quarterfinals: Here’s What to Know
- Amber Glenn Posts Uplifting Instagram Story After Upsetting Skating Performance
- Team USA vs. Canada: Three Bold Predictions for Women’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game
- Alysa Liu Heading Into Free Skate With Confidence After Excellent Short Program
- Amber Glenn Had Saddest Reaction to Her Brutal Mistake in Women’s Short Program
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Ilia Malinin Says Tom Brady, Steph Curry Reached Out After Olympic Collapse.
