MILAN — In December, before the U.S. figure skating championships, USA TODAY Sports’ Christine Brennan asked Ilia Malinin what seemed like an unfathomable question: Do you ever think about not winning the 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal?
It seemed silly. Malinin was figuratively being handed the gold medal before he even crossed the Atlantic Ocean. But to some surprise, it had crossed his mind.
“Sometimes, I have those thoughts a little bit,” Malinin. “It's like everyone expects you to be so perfect, and really know what you're doing all the time, but sometimes you're not always perfect.
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"You can have a day where nothing works out, and you kind of just have to go through that.”
