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A crowd of figure skaters and families from across the Washington region packed SkateQuest in Reston on Friday to watch hometown star Ilia Malinin chase Olympic gold and a place in history.

Within minutes, that hope unraveled.

Malinin, a Vienna resident who has trained at SkateQuest since age 5, fell twice during his free skate at the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics. He finished eighth with 264.49 points, missing the podium entirely.

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa also made costly mistakes in their routines, clearing the way for Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov to claim an unexpected men’s figure skating gold medal with 291 points.

At SkateQuest, shocked gasps swept through the multipurpose room when Malinin fell on a quad lutz. The room then went quiet. Supporters who could not console him in Milan applauded as the skater known as the “Quad God” left the ice.

“I can’t process what happened,” Malinin told NBC after the performance. He said he was grateful for the Olympic experience but acknowledged that his first reaction was, “I blew it.”

Malinin had entered the free skate with a five-point advantage over Kagiyama and Siao Him Fa. His commanding short program on Tuesday, Feb. 10, included a backflip and strengthened expectations that he would add an individual title to the team gold he helped the United States win Sunday, Feb. 8.

The outcome stunned his supporters, but SkateQuest staff members and skaters quickly emphasized their pride in him.

Madison Chong, who has trained at the Reston rink since she was 8, said Malinin has played an important role in her development as a skater. She described him as someone who offers encouragement whenever she is struggling.

“He is such a great person,” Chong said. “I’m wishing him the best and cheering him on.”

Her mother noted that athletes are human and make mistakes, and that one performance should not define an entire career.

“I know Ilia is a lot more than we saw today,” she said.

Interest in the watch party reflected Malinin’s deep local following. Organizers expected as many as 200 attendees after all 150 registration spots were taken. A waitlist was capped at 45 people, and SkateQuest Business Manager Margarita Montalvan said the rink had received calls about the event every day.

Montalvan has worked at SkateQuest for nearly two decades, including time as director of its camp program. She recalled seeing Malinin’s potential even when he was young and appearing in performances such as “The Nutcracker.”

“We just knew he was special from the beginning,” she said. “He had something. He had a drive about him, and he went out there and he did and he’s still doing amazing things.”

Malinin is the son of Olympic skaters Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, who both coach at SkateQuest. He arrived at his first Olympics after winning 14 consecutive full competitions, a streak that included four straight U.S. championships, two world titles and multiple world records.

Among those records was a free-skate score of 238.24 points at the Grand Prix Final in December. That performance gave Malinin a 30-point victory over the field. Kagiyama, the most recent skater to defeat him, placed second there, while Siao Him Fa finished fifth.

Malinin had acknowledged the pressure after his Olympic short program, saying that entering as the favorite did not guarantee the result.

“Actually getting it done and doing it under pressure and having the skate of your life to earn that medal is another thing,” he said. “I still have to put in the work.”

Before Friday’s program, much of the anticipation centered on whether Malinin would attempt a quad axel. He remains the only skater to have landed the jump in competition.

His planned routine contained seven quadruple jumps, tying a record. Kagiyama and Siao Him Fa each scheduled four. Unlike figure skating’s other five main jumps, which begin with the skater facing backward, the axel starts facing forward and requires an additional half rotation.

Malinin said beforehand that he hoped to attempt it but would put his health and safety first.

His achievements have already had a significant effect in Reston. SkateQuest has seen rising demand for classes and anticipated that as many as 800 students could enroll in its learn-to-skate program beginning at the end of February.

Montalvan said Malinin has remained grounded as his profile has grown, calling him a kind young man and a worthy example for aspiring skaters.

His Olympic free skate did not deliver the celebration Reston expected. But for the young athletes who train where Malinin grew up, his journey continues to demonstrate that the sport’s biggest stages are within reach.