Figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin helped the United States win Olympics gold in the team event despite not being at his best, so many fans naturally assumed he could clinch the top medal in men's singles without performing at his peak. Perhaps that would have been true, but the two-time world champion could not survive what was arguably his worst performance in a major competition.

Following a splendid, first-place showing in the short program on Tuesday, Malinin seemingly had a clear path to the most coveted prize in his sport. Though, as the free skate wore on, it became obvious that it would take amazing composure to survive the nerves that flooded the Milano Ice Skating Arena. Many competitors stumbled, but fans expected the 21-year-old American to do enough to claim victory. He did not make the podium.

Malinin fell twice and failed to complete other jumps during his routine, looking unrecognizable in the biggest moment of his career. He wore the devastation on his face, congratulated gold medal winner Mikhail Shaidorov and graciously answered questions during an NBC interview. Malinin is obviously still in shock after scoring a 156.33, and so are his fans. Everyone is trying to rationalize the sensation's eighth-place finish.

What fans are saying after Malinin's Olympics missteps 

“I blame the media, in large part, for what happened to Ilia Malinin today,” @DullahanPitch opined on X. ‘This ‘quad god' talk, camera always on him, everyone always saying he's in another league, and so on. He's also just 21. First Olympics. Also, social media. Keep these athletes off social media.”

“Devastating! One thing to not get gold but to not even make on the podium feel so bad for him,” @DallasAmiker commented. “Very shocking,” @rsot22 remarked. “Hopefully he uses this as fuel and lights it up in 2030.”

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“Absolutely devastated for Ilia Malinin,” @VitaminJSays lamented. “I can’t imagine how terrible it is to work so hard and not reach your goal. Still so so proud of him, and all of Team USA.”

Ilia Malinin has the talent to bounce back 

Whether it be the unrelenting pressure that comes with performing under the Olympics spotlight, excessive competition (skated four total times in the Milano Cortina Games) or a bit of overconfidence, this was not the experience that Malinin and countless others envisioned. The Virginia native admitted he was humbled and carried himself with the utmost class in the aftermath of his disastrous free skate.

Malinin embraced the lofty expectations and has sported his own “QuadGod” branded merchandise, so he already knew that all eyes would be on him in this event. But few athletes can actually prepare themselves for the emotional warfare that occurs during an Olympics skate.

This young gold medalist just hit rock bottom. Now, we wait to see how he responds.