Where Ilia Malinin’s Mom Tatiana Was During Son’s Disastrous Olympic Performance

Ilia Milanin could be heard after his shocking Olympic free skate performance saying that “it’s not easy.” It wasn’t only not easy, but it was truly stunning that the “Quad God” had a disastrous night and not only didn’t get a gold medal but fell way off of the podium. His dad Roman Skorniakov was there to comfort him afterward, but where was mom Tatiana Malinina?

It was all in front of the 21-year-old two-time world champion after he was leading after the short program in what seemed like an insurmountable lead.

Ilia Malinin of the United States of America was pumped after the men's singles short program during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. | James Lang-Imagn Images

Then he got out there and missed a few jumps early that were supposed to be quads but weren’t, and then he fell twice. He’d finish in an unbelievable 8th place.

'Quad God' Ilia Malinin falls twice, finishes eighth place after shocking performancehttps://t.co/pZRkPk7rKH
— John Miles (@jmiles7291) February 13, 2026

Afterward, he could be seen fighting back the tears of disappointment and hugged his dad. He talked to NBC afterward and was in complete shock like the rest of the world:

“I was not expecting that. I felt like going into this competition I was so ready,” he said. “Maybe I was too confident… obviously it happened… I can’t comprehend what happened.”

He was also the ultimate sport in defeat, congratulating gold medalist Kazakh skater, Mikhail Shaidorov.

Olympic sportsmanship at its finest. 🙌 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/ZahQr7pnOo
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 13, 2026

Malinin’s parents both were Olympians

Malinin comes from as good of genes as possible for this moment as anyone. Mom is a Russian-Uzbek retired figure skater and former Olympian in 1998 and 2002. His dad is a Soviet-born Russian-Uzbekistani figure skater and his coach, and is best known as a two-time Olympian (1998, 2002).

Meet US Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin’s parents, former Olympians Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov Meet US Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin’s parents, former Olympians Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov pic.twitter.com/tOVBTEqZB2
— NahBabyNah (@NahBabyNahNah) February 13, 2026

Where was mom during it all?

She was back in Virginia where she coaches figure skating. NBC cameras showed her on the ice leaving to go watch her son perform.

Ilia had said before, “It’s probably going to be only me and my dad who’s going to go,“ he told Today.

“My mom gets super nervous when I compete, and especially in Milan, that’s going to be so much pressure for her. So she’ll probably just stay off the radar for a few days until after I’m done skating.”

No doubt, she was heartbroken seeing his performance, and sad she wasn’t there to comfort him as well.

NBC also reported they haven’t spoken all week as she didn’t want to add more pressure to him.

It’s a devastating outcome for Malinin and USA Figure Skating.