Ilia Malinin had an eventful run in the 2026 Winter Olympics. While it wasn't all positive, the "Quad God" made plenty of headlines with his performance and actions on and off the skating rink.
The American figure skater led the U.S. to the gold medal in the team event. Malinin tallied a total score of 19 points — nine in the qualifiers and 10 in the final — to help the Americans finish with a total of 69 points. Team USA was only one point ahead of the Japanese team.
Unfortunately for Malinin, he lost in the men's individual free skate. He had several mistakes during his routine and even fell twice, causing him to drop to eighth with a score of 264.49.
Despite the disappointing result, however, Malinin won hearts with his gesture during the competition.
James Lang-Imagn Images
Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov won the men’s free skate gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, scoring 291.58. Instead of expressing his displeasure over losing, Malinin showed sportsmanship, as he was seen hugging Shaidorov and celebrating his success.
Malinin's behavior didn't go unnoticed. He was selected as a finalist for the Fair Play Award by the International Fair Play Committee (CIFP) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
"After a heartbreaking drop from 1st to 8th place, Malinin didn't retreat and genuinely celebrated gold medallist Mikhail Shaidorov," the CIFP wrote when announcing Malinin's selection as a finalist.
Interestingly, following the week-long voting, Malinin was selected as the recipient of the honor. The Olympics announced the development on Thursday, while also highlighting the 21-year-old's classy action.
"Ilia Malinin is the recipient of the #MilanoCortina2026 Fair Play Award!" the Olympics wrote on Instagram, while also sharing a video of the moment between Malinin and Shaidorov.
"When Mikhail Shaidorov won gold with his majestic free skate performance, the first to congratulate him was Malinin. Even though he’d just fallen from first to eighth, the American showed grace in defeat. An example for us all."
The other nominees for the honor included U.S. figure skater Amber Glenn, Czech curler Julie Zelingrova, Japanese figure skater Kagiyama Yuma, the Italian and U.S. women's curling teams and the Canadian Women's Ice Hockey Team.
It remains to be seen what award Malinin will get next, but it's worth noting that he's going to compete at the 2026 World Figure Skating Championships later this March.
