With Ilia Malinin’s eighth-place finish at the 2026 Winter Olympics, whispers of the “Olympic favorite curse” have resurfaced. The superstition claims that whenever figure skating has a clear, dominant favorite, something stops them from winning gold.
Since the first notable case in 2018, the curse seemed to haunt the women’s event only; however, with no clear favorite, the attention of the curse has seemingly shifted to the men. Is it just bad luck, a curse, or something else entirely?
2018: Evgenia Medvedeva
Evgenia Medvedeva, also known as “Miss Stability” by fans, was the favorite for Olympic gold at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics. At 18 years old, she earned the nickname for her calm consistency on the ice and for not losing a single competition for two years.
This stability was shaken by an injury. Early in the 2017-2018 season, she fell and fractured a metatarsal bone on her right foot. She proceeded to skate and win two Grand Prix on this injury before needing to be put in a cast.
This injury greatly limited her ice and practice time leading up to the games. This limitation on her body and the pressure of being “Miss Stability” led to a solid performance, earning silver, but not enough to beat her 15-year-old teammate, Alina Zagitova, for gold.
Eteri Expiration Date
Many attribute Medvedeva’s injury to overtraining by coach Eteri Tutberidze. Medvedeva once commented that she needed to be “dry” and as light as possible before competitions, meaning not being allowed to consume water on competition days.
Critiques of the coach use the phrase “Eteri expiration date” to describe how most of Tutberidze’s skaters often retire young, around 18 years old.
All of Tutberidze’s winning Olympic athletes have been teenagers performing high-scoring jumps. Former Olympic champion Robin Cousins commented on this, saying, “It’s the little girl’s bodies that allow that type of rotation to happen.”
Medvedeva’s teammate, Zagitova, who took gold and retired shortly after, said that puberty was the death of one’s skating career through “becoming fat” and losing the ability to perform high-scoring skills.
2022: Kamila Valieva
Kamila Valieva was called by many “perfection itself” due to her immense talent and flawless performance style. At 15, she was performing quadruple jumps that were rarely performed in the women’s division due to great difficulty. She was a shoo-in for gold at the 2022 Beijing Olympics.
Days before Valieva was set to perform, the Olympics were rocked with scandal when she tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication that enhances endurance and stamina.
Even though Valieva was allowed to compete due to extraneous circumstances, the media circus around the scandal racked her confidence, causing her to fall on many of her jumps, missing the Olympic podium entirely.
After competing, Valieva was banned from competition for four years, and the minimum age of girls allowed to compete in Olympic figure skating was raised to 17 instead of 15.
Even though Valieva, a 15-year-old minor, was banned from competing, her coach, Eteri Tutberidze, wasn’t banned from coaching at the 2026 Milan Winter Olympics. Once again, outside circumstances stood in the way of the Olympic favorite and gold.
2022: Alexandra Trusova
After Valieva’s scandal, her teammate Alexandra Trusova was the next clear favorite for gold with her high-scoring quadruple jump. Even though she landed five quadruple jumps during her performance, which had never been done before in the women’s sport, she only received silver.
An Olympic silver medal may be outstanding for anyone else, but to Trusova, it was heartbreaking.
This immense disappointment wasn’t helped by cameras being put in her face when the scores were announced. This led to Trusova breaking down crying while trying to shield herself from the cameras as she yelled things like, “I hate this sport,” and “I’m never stepping out on the ice again,” to her coach, Eteri Tutberidze.
Many commented on her behavior, but the immense pressure of the Olympics can’t be understated. A 17-year-old Trusova, now close to the “Eteri expiration date,” worked her entire life for this moment and made history, and it wasn’t enough for the judges.
2026: Ilia Malinin
Ilia Malinin was, by most Americans, seen as the face of the 2026 Olympics in Milan, with videos of his famous quadruple axel and backflips trending on social media.
Being the only person in the world to land a quadruple axel, the highest scoring jump in the sport, and an impressive array of championship titles made him the obvious favorite.
The world was shocked when, during his Olympic men’s free skate debut, Malinin fell or failed to attempt many of his planned high-scoring jumps. Malinin himself was shocked by his performance, remarking, “I blew it,” in a follow-up interview.
Malinin credited his errors to psychological rather than physical reasons. At 21, Malinin was both making his Olympic debut and was the face of the Olympics for many who knew nothing about the sport of figure skating.
Like the women before him, Malinin’s nickname of “Quad God” also served as additional pressure, transforming him from just a 21-year-old athlete to a ‘god’ in the sport.
The pressure put upon Malinin is evident through his two-time Olympian parents, who also serve as his coaches. Malinin’s mom left Milan before the competition due to high stress levels and it being “too much pressure for her.” If it’s too much pressure for his mother, how much pressure is there on him?
The real pattern? Pressure.
Olympic pressure is like no other, performing with national pride and honor on the line. For young athletes, that weight can be suffocating, especially when “favorite” status turns into expectations of perfection.
Flattering nicknames like “Miss Stability” or “Quad God” may seem endearing, but can lead to the deification of a young athlete who, at the end of the day, is human.
But the curse isn’t the end: Medvedeva remains an influential voice despite retiring, Valieva has returned to competition, Trusova is back competing after marriage and motherhood, and Malinin made a triumphant Olympic gala appearance, performing to “Fear” by NF, with hopes of returning in 2030.
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