Simone Biles Reaches Out to Skater After Olympic Heartbreak

When Simone Biles saw fellow American athlete Ilia Malinin fall twice during his Olympic figure skating performance, she knew exactly what he was feeling.

The 21-year-old figure skater entered the Milan Olympics as the gold medal favorite but crashed from first place to eighth after a devastating free skate. He couldn't land his signature quadruple axel, and the visible distress on his face told the whole story.

Biles, watching from the stands, recognized that pain immediately. She sent Malinin a message right after the competition ended.

"I was really worried about how his mental health was going to be," the 28-year-old gymnastics champion told Olympics.com. "When you're expected to skate a performance of your lifetime and you don't deliver, I worry how that affects his mental health."

Biles knows this territory intimately. At the Tokyo 2021 Olympics, she arrived as the overwhelming favorite after winning four golds in Rio. But she developed the "twisties," a mental block triggered by stress where gymnasts lose spatial awareness mid-air, and withdrew from events to protect her mental health.

The decision sparked global conversation about athlete wellbeing. Biles returned triumphantly at Paris 2024, winning three more golds and a silver.

After Malinin's performance, he posted a raw message on Instagram about fighting "invisible battles" and dealing with "vile online hatred" that attacks the mind. He wrote about "endless insurmountable pressure" leading to "an inevitable crash."

That's when Biles knew she had to reach out. The two met up in Milan on Tuesday.

"I did a couple of bullet points and just sent it to him right away so he knew that he had support in a different aspect," Biles said. "Seeing someone and talking to someone that has gone through the same thing and validating that."

Malinin's response confirmed what she suspected. "He's like, 'Oh my gosh, yes, this is exactly how I feel,'" Biles recalled.

Why This Inspires

What makes this moment special isn't just one champion helping another. It's watching someone who survived their darkest moment turn around and become a lifeline for someone else in that same darkness.

Biles didn't have to reach out. She was just a spectator at a different sport's event. But she chose connection over silence, vulnerability over distance.

Her message to Malinin wasn't about bouncing back or pushing through. It was about validation, processing, and knowing you're not alone when the weight becomes too much.

Sometimes the greatest victories happen far from the medal stand, in quiet conversations between people who understand that appearing strong and being okay aren't always the same thing.