Team USA figure skater Ilia Malinin’s peers rallied behind him after the gold-medal hopeful finished in a disappointing eighth place during the men’s singles competition.

“I was not expecting that,” Malinin, 21, told NBC Sports on Friday, February 13, after his final 2026 Winter Olympics performance. “I felt so ready getting on that ice. Maybe I was too confident it was going to go well.”

Malinin, affectionately nicknamed the “quad god” for the sheer number of quadruple turns in his routines, was the gold-medal favorite in the 2026 Winter Olympics. After finishing the short program at the top of the leaderboard, he slid down to eighth after falling twice and making a slew of technical mistakes in his free skate.

“Finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere, it’s crazy. It’s really different,” he told NBC after his competition. “I blew it. There’s no way that just happened.”

Ahead of the individual event, Malinin helped Team USA win gold in the team event.

Keep scrolling to see how Malinin’s fellow skaters have reacted to his surprising eighth place finish:

Tara Lipiniski

Tara Lipinski served as a broadcaster during Malinin’s Olympics competition.

“The grace, honesty and sportsmanship you showed in a moment of heartbreak reveals you are not only an elite athlete but a gracious human being,” Lipiniski wrote via Instagram. “I can’t wait to watch you rise.”

Johnny Weir

Johnny Weir works with Tara Lipinski as an NBC commentator during the Winter Games.

“You are one in a million @ilia_quadg0d_malinin,” Weir captioned an Instagram tribute. “You showed true sportsmanship and grace. I can’t wait to see where you’ll take us next. 🤍”

Nathan Chen

Gold medalist Nathan Chen was also confused as to why Malinin faced many missteps in the free skate.

“Something happened tonight and, truthfully, I can’t even express what it might be,” Chen told Yahoo! Sports. “I definitely can reflect back on my experience in 2018, when I went into the short program with a lot of pressure, a lot of concerns in my head [and] a lot of doubt.”

Chen further noted that Malinin appeared to “hold back” on most of his elements throughout the Olympics routine.

“By the end of it, it just was not his night,” he said. “One of the hardest parts about performing for a huge sold-out crowd is that you really can viscerally feel the reaction from the crowd.  … That hurts you to your gut. Mentally, you have to figure out what went wrong and how can I regroup for the next element? Also, the energy changes in the arena and you can feel there’s tension now.”

Chen also noted that Malinin is still young and is “still hungry” to overcome his 2026 Olympics outcome.

“He has so much potential,” Chen concluded. “Tonight is a night where he’ll have to reflect and reevaluate where he was mentally and physically, and try to identify how he can come into the next Olympics and have a different outcome.”

Related: Behind-the-Scenes on Team USA’s Dramatic Journey to the 2026 Winter Olympics

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The 2026 Winter Olympics are officially here — and Team USA is arriving in Italy with star power, storylines and sky-high expectations.  As the world’s best athletes descend on Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, all eyes are on the Americans: from Ilia Malinin’s can’t-miss moment in men’s figure skating to Mikaela Shiffrin’s long-awaited redemption tour on […]

Elladj Balde 

Retired Canadian figure skater Elladj Baldé also offered his support.

“Figure Skating is one of the hardest sports mentally. The pressure is unbelievably heavy and there is no margin for error,” Baldé wrote via Instagram. “Tonight was a tough one but I am so proud of all of these skaters for the work they have put in to get here.”

Speaking to Malinin directly, he added, “You are an innovator and trailblazer of this sport and what you bring to the ice is far greater than simply your jumping ability.”

Spencer Pratt’s Sister
A Vote For My Bro is a Vote For Stupidity!!!

Published
February 14, 2026
4:36 PM PST
|
Updated
February 14, 2026
6:02 PM PST

Since the premiere of Love Is Blind in 2020, fans have wondered how effective the concept of speed-dating without seeing the other person actually is.

The show, which has aired eight seasons and spawned multiple international iterations, follows singles dating in pods over the course of 10 days. The kicker, of course, is that they cannot see one another. If couples find love, then they will get engaged without ever meeting face-to-face.

After leaving the pods, pairs will decide if their blind love can withstand real-life pressures and a wedding date within weeks.

Love Is Blind has proven to be a success with several couples, from Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton to Bliss Poureetezadi-Goytowski and Zack Goytowski, finding lasting love. Bliss and Zack even welcomed the first Love Is Blind baby, a daughter named Galileo, in 2024.

Scroll down to find out whether your favorite Love Is Blind couple is still together:

Travis Kelce
Maybe, I Should Stick to Football …
Hits Another Woman with Golf Ball!!!

Published
February 14, 2026
5:11 PM PST

Guess Who
This Comedic Actor Is!

Published
February 14, 2026
6:00 PM PST

Erika Kirk is marking the first Valentine’s Day without her late husband, right-wing conservative influencer Charlie Kirk.

“What I would give for one more love letter… They had such a deep reverence about them,” Erika, 37, wrote via Instagram on Saturday, February 14, alongside a photo of a letter she received from her late husband prior to his untimely death.

“You’d intentionally set aside the noise of the world and hand me words that felt sacred filled with a depth of love both of us could never quite articulate,” she continued in the caption. “I read it all even slower now. And as I read your words, the weight on my heart reminds me of a reality that we were never promised gray hair and rocking chairs even though we assumed it was guaranteed. But my goodness, do I love telling the babies about the fullness of our covenant that left a mark on my soul. My favorite love story.”

Charlie was shot and killed in September 2025 while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. He was 31.

Related: Erika Kirk Honors Late Husband Charlie Kirk With Heartfelt Birthday Tribute

Charlie Kirk is being remembered on what would have been his 32nd birthday. A new video, shared by his widow, Erika Kirk, and his nonprofit Turning Point USA via Instagram on Tuesday, October 14, paid tribute to the memories the right-wing influencer left behind with his family, including clips from the couple’s wedding day, the […]

“It’s with a heavy heart that we, the Turning Point USA leadership team, write to notify you that early this afternoon, Charlie went to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in heaven,” a statement from Turning Point USA read at the time, confirming the political activist’s death.

After a 33-hour manhunt, a 22-year-old suspect turned himself into authorities at the behest of his parents, was subsequently arrested and charged for allegedly murdering Charlie. He is currently being held without bail in a Utah jail. If convicted, the 22-year-old faces the death penalty.

Erika has since taken over as CEO of Turning Point USA, the right-wing conservative nonprofit cofounded by Charlie and Bill Montgomery in 2012. In the midst of pyrotechnic-heavy public remembrances, numerous public appearances, conservative in-fighting and a controversial hug with Vice President JD Vance, Erika has been outspoken about her personal experience with grief.

“…there is no linear blueprint for grief. One day you’re collapsed on the floor crying out the name Jesus in between labored breaths,” Erika, 36, wrote via Instagram in October 2025. “The next you’re playing with your children in the living rooms surrounded by family photos, and feeling a rush of something you can only attempt to define as divinely planted and bittersweet joy as a smile breaks through your face.”

Related: Erika Kirk Marked 1st Birthday Since Charlie’s Death With Throwback Video

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Erika Kirk (née Frantzve) celebrated her 37th birthday with a throwback video of her late husband, Charlie Kirk. “I always loved celebrating you, and maybe because it was a reflection of how beautifully you always celebrated me,” Erika captioned an Instagram video on Thursday, November 20. “I romanticized growing old with you, the love of […]

She continued at the time, “They say time heals. But love doesn’t ask to be healed. Love asks to be remembered. It’s humbling to realize that this magnitude of suffering didn’t steal my love for my husband. It amplified it. It crystallized it.”

On Valentine’s Day 2026, Erika went on to urge her followers to “honor the Sabbath this weekend with your loved ones.”

“And if you’re married, take a minute to sit down and write to them a love letter. One that shows you see them, you love them, you honor them, and you want to continue to be better for them,” she added. “A letter like this might seem trivial, but you just never know the course life will take, if the Lord calls you home, even in your absence, as they reflect on your words, your love is still serving them.”

She concluded with a specific message to her late husband, “I love you Charlie baby, you will always be my Valentine.”