Ilia Malinin didn’t have the Winter Olympics debut he wanted.
From gold medal favorite in the men’s individual competition, including after a first-place short program, the Team USA figure skating star plummeted to eighth after multiple falls in his free skate.
Usually, that’d mean he’s done with the Olympics.
Malinin, though, is doing something different.
MORE: A dog stole the show at the finish line of cross country skiing
Is Ilia Malinin done at the Olympics?
Yes, Malinin is done competing for medals at the Olympics, but no, he’s not done skating on Olympic ice in Italy.
Malinin will skate in the exhibition gala on Saturday, with that news initially broken by Christine Brennan of USA Today.
Brennan writes that it’s “almost unheard of” for someone in Malinin’s position (eighth place) to be invited to skate in the closing showcase.
There are no judges at the gala, just the skaters performing for the crowd.
“Usually only the Olympic medalists perform, with the occasional fourth-place finisher or skater from the host nation included,” Brennan writes.
MORE: Mikaela Shiffrin just broke the Olympics
Malinin’s popularity and unprecedented skill level won out.
It will be a chance for him to get right back on the ice and try to exorcise at least a few demons.
Malinin will then skate next month, too, at the world championships in Prague. He’s the two-time defending world champion.
