Some Olympic athletes get put on a sparkling pedestal long before they get the chance to step onto a podium. For Team USA figure skating favorites like Amber Glenn and Ilia Malinin, this attention could have been detrimental to their actual performances during the Olympics.
The Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games are set to begin on Friday. Current favorites to win gold include five-time Paralympian and seven-time medalist Laurie Stephens, who is one of the most decorated para alpine athletes in U.S. history, and the Team USA sled hockey team.
Under the spotlight of millions of viewers, Paralympians coined the “favorite” in their event may face similar pressures as Glenn and Malinin.
Glenn and Malinin both hit the ice during their short program and free skate competitions, respectively. Falling during jumps they typically nail, both athletes appeared emotionally-stricken after their blunders.
“All of this pressure, all of the media, and just being the Olympic gold hopeful was a lot,” Malinin told NBC after his performance. “It was too much to handle.”
After his first fall, Malinin appeared shaken, and he then made another series of mistakes.
“We get into a muscle memory kind of moment where you’re not really thinking, you’re just doing what you practice,” said Rahi Kumbar, a first-year environmental studies major and member of the USC Figure Skating Club. “Whenever you fall, it can snap you out of that and freak you out.”
Self-proclaimed “Quad God,” Malinin, referring to his ability to land the quadruple axel, is a world-record holder. He boasted the highest score ever received in the free skate event, a 238.24, on the same general routine in December at the 2025–26 Grand Prix Final.
During his Olympic free skate, he only completed four of his seven planned quadruple jumps. This earned him a mere 156.33 points, landing him in eighth place by the end of the Games. He had not lost a competition since November 2023.
Dr. Michael Gervais, a high-performance psychologist who works with Olympians and NFL players, explained that the mindset change that occurs during the Olympics is not unique to Malinin.
“Even veteran athletes who have spent years competing at the highest levels can experience an internal shift when they arrive at the Games,” he said. “Some athletes tighten up under the gravity of the moment, and some expand, experiencing freedom rather than pressure.”
During her short program Olympic skate, Team USA women’s figure skater Glenn executed her hardest jump, the triple axel, with ease. She then struggled on her triple toe loop, just a few moves later — a move considered to be the simplest triple jump in the sport.
Glenn only completed a double rotation, which invalidated the jump entirely. She received zero points for the move, pushing her down to 13th place by the end of the night. As she left the ice after her long-program, Glenn mouthed at the camera, “so close.” Afterwards, she cried in her coach’s arms.
“I did the hard stuff, so I was just in shock,” Glenn told NBC immediately after the performance. “I wanted to enjoy today, and unfortunately, I didn’t get to.”
Hailey Tien, a third-year computer science major and member of the USC Figure Skating Club, empathized with Glenn.
“Whenever it’s an uncharacteristic fall like that, like something you don’t usually fall on, I feel those can tend to be the worst,” she said.
With headlines like “Amber Glenn Cries After She Struggles With Women’s Short Program” mentioning her “costly mistake,” calling Malinin’s performance a “shocking night to forget,” the athletes may have trouble escaping the global media madness that ensues after favorites like them fall on the world stage.
Gervais said some of the pressures the skaters felt were likely exacerbated by the Olympic optics.
“If you see something as being huge, you run the risk of feeling small,” he said. “And that becomes a very compromised position to be in when you’re being challenged to do something artistically on demand on the world stage.”
Since their original competition, Malinin and Glenn both got a chance to redeem themselves at the Exhibition Gala. The Gala boasts zero expectations or awards, and skaters are encouraged to perform fun, meaningful or silly routines. Glenn performed “That’s Life” by Lady Gaga.
During this low-pressure event, the skaters focused more on expressive movement and jumps rather than re-trying the moves they missed during the competition.
Malinin also performed, skating in jeans and a paint-splattered sweatshirt to the tune of “Fear” by NF. He completed his signature backflip amidst his emotional performance. The skate was meant to remind the audience of the humanity behind Olympians.
“The environment has been so overwhelming, this pressure of being in the Olympics,” Malinin said to The Athletic.“I’m very grateful to be here, and I want to show to the world that we’re also human beings. We also have real thoughts, real feelings, even though it looks like we’re completely like robots with superhuman abilities.”
Gervais commended the sentiment.
“Ilia is tremendous, he was a champion far before he arrived at the Olympics in so many ways,” he said. “We have so much to learn from him.”