“A reminder that nothing is certain in sports. There’s no such thing as inevitable.” – Terry Gannon on Ilia Malinin’s performance in the men’s free skate, finishing eighth
“This one performance will never diminish what Ilia Malinin has done for our sport, and I am sure that he will continue to do incredible things.” – Johnny Weir on Malinin
“I don’t think we can even point to anything that truly happened technically. It was all mental.” – Tara Lipinski on Malinin
“(Before the event) I got asked, ‘Is anyone able to beat Ilia Malinin?’ and I said, ‘Only Ilia.’ And that happened tonight.” – Scott Hamilton on Malinin
“He’s such a great young man. You saw that in the interview. That’s the lowest point in his skating life and he still had great answers.” – Mike Tirico on Malinin’s post-skate interview with Andrea Joyce
STAMFORD, Conn. – February 13, 2026 – NBCUniversal’s coverage of the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics continues tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC and Peacock with Primetime in Milan, hosted by Mike Tirico. Primetime in Milan features the men’s free skate program, women’s snowboard cross, men’s halfpipe, and more tonight at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.
Following are highlights from today’s live coverage of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics on NBC, Peacock, and USA Network:
FIGURE SKATING MEN’S FREE SKATE
Terry Gannon: “A reminder that nothing is certain in sports. There’s no such thing as inevitable.”
Tara Lipinski on Ilia Malinin’s performance in which he finished in eighth place: “This is heartbreaking for Ilia, and you can see it on his face. That was shocking.”
Johnny Weir on the pressure on Malinin: “The pressure on his shoulders for this Olympics was tremendous. This place is literally standing room only just for him.”
Lipinski on Malinin’s mistakes: “I don’t think we can even point to anything that truly happened technically. It was all mental. I never thought that he could be off the podium.”
Weir on Malinin’s impact beyond the podium: “This one performance will never diminish what Ilia Malinin has done for our sport, and I am sure that he will continue to do incredible things.”
ILIA MALININ POST-SKATE INTERVIEW WITH ANDREA JOYCE
Andrea Joyce to Malinin: “We saw the reaction on Ilia’s face after the program. Can you tell us your first thoughts?”
Malinin: “I was not expecting that. I felt like going into this competition I was so ready, I just felt ready getting on that ice, but I think maybe that might have been the reason that maybe I was too confident that it was going to go well. I honestly can’t process what just happened, so it happens.”
Joyce to Malinin: “You did sound so confident when you arrived at the arena. Do you think it was something physical or do you think it was more mental out there?
Malinin: “It was definitely mental. I mean, just now, finally experiencing that Olympic atmosphere it is crazy it is not like any other competition. It is really different and I am just still so grateful that I was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am, but of course that was not the skate I wanted.”
Joyce to Malinin: “21 years old. You had the biggest spotlight of anyone on you. When the music ended, what was your first thought?”
Malinin: “I blew it. That’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind was there is no way that just happened. I have been preparing for this whole season. I felt so confident with my program with everything and just go out and that happened. I have no words honestly.”
Joyce to Malinin: “No time to really process this just yet, but you have always said this is just the beginning. You have been looking forward to more Olympics to come. What do you think?”
Malinin: “I think, obviously I should take the stuff that I learned here and really just improve it. Use the knowledge to see what I can do in the future for this not to happen.”
Scott Hamilton on Malinin’s stunning result: “I’m in shock. There was no way he could lose. And not only no way he could lose, no way he wasn’t going to win by 30. With his body of work and everything we’ve seen coming into this event, he’s unbeatable. I got asked, ‘Is anyone able to beat Ilia Malinin?’ and I said, ‘Only Ilia.’ And that happened tonight.”
Hamilton on how quickly it unraveled for Malinin: “For him to not be able to regather his momentum, his timing, and his rhythm, this scoring system is really good at rewarding excellence. But it’s extremely punitive when performances happen like that one. I’m in such shock. I feel so horribly for Ilia. He came into this with such momentum and such joy. With all he’s accomplished this season, for that to happen is devastating.”
Tirico: “He’s such a great young man. You saw that in the interview. That’s the lowest point in his skating life and he still had great answers.”
Hamilton on the heartbreak of Malinin’s Olympic moment: “There are a lot of demands. But still, this is the game you play, and you have to come prepared to play it. I felt that Ilia was locked down and ready to just conquer the world and conquer the sport and be the greatest story in this entire Olympic Games. It just imploded.”
Weir on Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov winning the gold medal: “He told me this week he wants people to know that there are no limits. ‘I started skating in a shopping mall and now I’m competing at the Olympics.’ And now he just won the Olympics.”
Terry Gannon on the emotion behind Maxim Naumov’s Olympic performance: “Every moment of these Olympics has been meaningful for Maxim, and there was one moment about midway through that program where you could sense it with this crowd as they were supporting him and urging him to keep fighting. And he said that is what his parents have always told him to do. That was their motto.”
WOMEN’S HOCKEY QUARTERFINAL: UNITED STATES VS. ITALY
Jen Botterill on Caroline Harvey’s historic tournament for Team USA: “Caroline Harvey with eight points in the tournament. She now has the most points ever by a player from Team USA that has played the defense position. That’s what she’s capable of. The best we’ve ever seen from a player from Team USA that plays defense.”
Megan Keller to Kathryn Tappen on the stakes of the quarterfinals: “You’re going to get everybody’s best. We’re representing our countries, and it’s a do-or-die situation.”
SNOWBOARDING MEN’S HALFPIPE FINAL
Todd Richards on Ayumu Hirano’s (Japan) full-circle moment with Shaun White: “Now, 27 years of age, he picked up the silver medal in Sochi 2014 competing against Shaun White. Again, silver in 2018 competing against Shaun White. Now Shaun White is at the bottom of the pipe cheering him on.”
Richards on Yuto Totsuka’s (Japan) 95-point run to take the lead and ultimately win the gold medal: “One of the most incredible runs we have seen in halfpipe history.”
SPEED SKATING MEN’S 10,000M
Bill Spaulding on Vladislav Semirunny’s path to representing Poland at the Olympics: “Semirunny just got his Polish citizenship last year. Before that, he had to sit out 14 months when changing his allegiance from Russia to Poland. He fled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine, and he came out strongly against that action. He moved to Poland and said that he felt welcomed into this country like one of Poland’s own children, and he’s hoping to represent his new country with a gold medal.”
Spaulding on Metodej Jilek making history for Czechia, winning the gold medal in the 10,000m: “If you go back to Sunday, Czechia never had a medal in men’s speed skating. Jilek won the silver, and he was disappointed in it. He wanted gold, and he is skating with absolute fury here in the 10,000m.”
Bill Spaulding on Bob de Jong’s (Netherlands) bronze at age 40: “The oldest medal in speed skating, at 40 years old.”
BIATHLON MEN’S 10KM SPRINT
Chad Salmela on Campbell Wright’s ninth-place finish for Team USA: “This is the best finish by an American, by U.S. biathlon standards at the Olympics, by fractions of seconds.”
SKELETON WOMEN’S FIRST RUN
Bree Schaaf on Team China’s execution on the track: “Take a look at her form. This is something this team does better than any other team. They are so committed, no matter what kind of mayhem or chaos is happening down the track.”
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING MEN’S 10KM
Steve Schlanger as Johannes Høsflot Klæbo wins his eighth Olympic gold medal: “A huge lead! And the march into Olympic mythology rolls on for Johannes Høsflot Klæbo, putting himself in position for a record eighth Olympic gold medal!”
MEN’S CURLING: UNITED STATES VS. CANADA
Jason Knapp on the origin of Aiden Oldenberg’s now-famous headband: “That red headband actually started as a joke earlier this year. They were teasing one of their opponents — Mark Fenner from Team Dropkin — at an event, so they brought headbands and wore them for fun. It kind of took off from there, and now it’s become his signature look.”
***
ABOUT NBCUNIVERSAL
NBCUniversal is one of the world’s leading media and entertainment companies. We create world-class content, which we distribute across our portfolio of film, television, and streaming, and bring to life through our global theme park destinations, consumer products, and experiences. We own and operate leading entertainment and news brands, including NBC, NBC News, NBC Sports, Telemundo, NBC Local Stations, Bravo, and Peacock, our premium ad-supported streaming service. We produce and distribute premier filmed entertainment and programming through our powerhouse film and television studios, including Universal Pictures, DreamWorks Animation, and Focus Features, and the four global television studios under the Universal Studio Group banner, and operate industry-leading theme parks and experiences around the world through Universal Destinations & Experiences, including Universal Orlando Resort, home to Universal Epic Universe, and Universal Studios Hollywood. NBCUniversal is a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation. Visit www.nbcuniversal.com for more information.
--MILAN CORTINA 2026 WINTER OLYMPICS—
