There was screaming, crying and hands covering eyes and mouths at the Winter Olympics watch party hosted by SkateQuest in Reston, Virginia, on Friday.
They were all in disbelief as they watched Fairfax-native Ilia Malinin’s Olympic dreams crash to the ice from his home rink.
Malinin’s eighth place showing in the Olympic free skate final seemed impossible to everyone in the room; and to most everyone else watching around the world, he was supposed to bring home the gold.
There were so many people in attendance at the watch party that a movie screen had to be set up on one of the ice rinks.
When you walk into SkateQuest, a giant image of the “Quad God” from his 2024 World Championship welcomes you into the building.
Anthony Lamirata started working at SkateQuest as Zamboni driver 18 years ago, and is now the general manager.
“I’ve known (Malinin) since he was seven years old when he started skating here,” Lamirata said. “I just felt so bad for him.”
When asked what he would say to Malinin, Lamirata’s voice cracked a bit: “I’d just give him a hug. That’s it.”
Emily Desjardins, who said she’s skated with Malinin from time to time, said he is a lovely person.
“He’s wonderful to skate with. He’s super kind to everyone here and it makes my heart break,” Desjardins said.
Desjardins pointed out that the public saw his four minute-long routine, but everyone at SkateQuest sees the hard work put in day after day, year after year since he was a little boy.
One of the people sitting front row that looked physically pained by Friday afternoon’s results was 17-year-old Lucius Kazanecki.
The 2025 Junior Grand Prix Final bronze medalist was trained by Malinin‘s parents.
“Horrible. Just horrible,” Kazanecki said of the disappointing dual falls. “Not what any of us expected at all. He’s been thinking about this for years. … I feel horrible for him.“
Around the room, two teenage girls held up a sign as Malinin gave an interview, almost like they were trying to tell him everything was going to be OK.
The handmade sign read, “Ilia. Keep calm and quad on.”
Dakota Flood, a teenage figure skater, couldn’t have agreed with that message more.
“We’re so incredibly proud of him,” Flood said. “This isn’t the end.”
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