US Edition
Biles Consoles Malinin After 'Heartbreaking' Olympic Collapse
Simone Biles reached out privately to support Ilia Malinin after his two falls led to an eighth-place finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics free skate.
- On Feb. 13, Simone Biles privately contacted Ilia Malinin after his eighth-place finish to offer support, as she discussed on TODAY on Feb. 17.
- Simone Biles, drawing on her Tokyo experience, reached out privately in Milan, Italy, fearing for Ilia Malinin's well-being as she advocates for athlete mental health.
- Support poured in from fellow stars as Biles and Malinin hugged on TODAY's Milan set Tuesday, with Malinin receiving texts from Tom Brady, Steph Curry, Snoop, and Biles who called him 'Quad God'.
- Despite the result, Malinin says he will channel the setback and plans to skate in the exhibition gala on Feb. 21, 2026, before returning home.
- The episode highlights that elite expectations and online vitriol can create 'invisible battles' that overwhelm athletes on the world's biggest stage, Dr. Michael Gervais analyzed.
27 Articles
27 Articles
The American gymnast at the seven Olympic titles gave his support to his compatriot figure skater after his painful failure in Milan.
The American came eighth in the figure skating event, of which he was the great favourite.
Bad games, the tricolors managed a fantastic recovery, like the men's team the day before, and gave this Wednesday a 17th medal to the French delegation. For her part, the gymnast star said she stole from the help of her fellow skater.
The legend of gymnastics revealed having written to his compatriot Ilia Malinin, only 8th of the figure skating event and who evoked his "invisible fights", then having met him in person.
Simone Biles wrote to Ilia Malinin after the Olympic crash: "I lived it firsthand, I was worried about his mental health." The two met in Milan: "I hope it was useful for him."
Daily Journal
Biles consoles Malinin after 'heartbreaking' Olympic collapse
Gymnastics superstar Simone Biles has revealed that she reached out to offer support to US figure skater Ilia Malinin after witnessing his heartbreaking Olympic collapse at the Milan-Cortina Winter Games.
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