Biles struggled with the twisties during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
Today/Instagram
NEED TO KNOW
- Ilia Malinin, dubbed the “Quad God,” placed eighth after falling twice during the men’s figure skating final at the 2026 Winter Olympics
- Simone Biles said she privately supported Malinin, relating his struggles to her own experience with the twisties at the 2020 Tokyo Games
- The two athletes bonded after their interviews, joking about teaching each other their signature moves
Simone Biles can relate to Ilia Malinin’s Olympic struggles.
Malinin, 21, had a disappointing performance in the men's figure skating final on Feb. 13 at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
The Team USA frontrunner, the self-dubbed “Quad God,” fell twice during his performance, landing him an eighth-place finish as he struggled to fight back tears.
Gymnast Biles had a similar experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she suffered from a case of the twisties, which forced her to bow out of the team competition in the middle of the Games — and she was able to talk to Malinin about how to recover.
“I’ve definitely had a chance to bump into him,” Biles, 28, said of Malinin during an interview on the Today show on Tuesday, Feb. 17. “I’ve sent him messages on Instagram as well, obviously, it’s all been private because I know what he’s going through and I know most athletes might not be able to relate, and it’s really, really hard to watch.”
Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
However, Biles holds out hope for Malinin’s athletic future, calling the figure skater an “absolute legend.”
“I see him coming out on top after this,” Biles said. “We’re all just cheering for him.”
Jean Catuffe/Getty
Earlier in the broadcast, Malinin had his own interview with the Today show, admitting that the pressure of his frontrunner status was weighing on him before his falls.
“Honestly, it’s not a pleasant feeling,” Malinin admitted, when asked about having all eyes on him at this Olympics. “The most honest way to say it is just a lot on you, so many eyes, so much attention not only from people, or fans, media, it’s just so much and it really can get to you if you’re not ready to fully embrace it.”
View this post on Instagram
He added, “I think that might be one of the mistakes I made going into that free skate was I was not ready to handle that to a full extent, so I think looking back at that, now I’ll be able to kind of understand how that feels so I’ll be able to take a full approach leading up to the next games hopefully.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
View this post on Instagram
Malinin and Biles met up after their respective interviews, posing for photos and bonding over an interest in one another’s sports.
“Teach me a thing or two!” Biles called out to Malinin.
“Teach me a double full!” Malinin countered.
“Teach me a quad!” Biles said, laughing in reference to Malinin’s signature move.
Read the full article here
