Simone Biles has responded to American figure skater Ilia Malinin’s two falls during the men’s figure skating final at the Winter Olympics.
Malinin’s performance was one of the most highly anticipated of the games. But his stumbles during Friday’s event left him off the podium in eighth place as he held back tears. He began his routine aiming to become the first man to land seven quads in a single Olympic event, including the difficult quad axel. While he landed the quad flip, he stuttered on the axel, managing only a single rotation. He then stepped out of the lutz and could add only a double toe loop.
Olympic gymnast Biles, 28, landed in a similar situation herself, as she had the “twisties” during her time at the 2020 Tokyo games, where she had to remove herself from multiple events.
During her appearance on Tuesday’s episode of the Today show, Biles revealed that she was able to speak to the Malinin following his event, sharing advice on how to bounce back.
“I’ve definitely had a chance to bump into him,” she said. “I’ve sent him messages on Instagram as well, obviously, it’s all been private because I know what he’s going through, and I know most athletes might not be able to relate, and it’s really, really hard to watch.”
Despite the skater’s mishap, Biles added that Malinin is still an “absolute legend” and predicts that he will be able to return stronger.
“I see him coming out on top after this,” the seven-time gold medalist said. “We’re all just cheering for him.”
Malinin himself also appeared on Tuesday’s episode of the morning talk show as he reflected on what led to his fall, noting that he let the pressure affect his performance.
“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling,” he said about that many people watching him at the time. “The most honest way to say it is just a lot on you, so many eyes, so much attention, not only from people, or fans, media, it’s just so much, and it really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it.”
He added, “I think that might be one of the mistakes I made going into that free skate was I was not ready to handle that to a full extent, so I think looking back at that, now I’ll be able to kind of understand how that feels so I’ll be able to take a full approach leading up to the next games hopefully.”
