Ilia Malinin suggested Monday he has been the victim of online attacks and is "fighting invisible battles" in his first public statement since his shock eighth-place finish in the men's figure skating final at the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
The 21-year-old American star posted a message on Instagram with a video which switched between him celebrating victories and sitting with his head in his hands.
"On the world's biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside," Malinin wrote.Â
"Even your happiest memories can end up tainted by the noise. Vile online hatred attacks the mind and fear lures it into the darkness, no matter how hard you try to stay sane through the endless insurmountable pressure.Â
"It all builds up as these moments flash before your eyes, resulting in an inevitable crash. This is that version of the story."
The two-time world champion also teased that something was "coming February 21", which is the day of the Olympic figure skating exhibition gala.
Malinin came into these Olympics as the hottest of favourites, but the skater who had not lost for more than two years suffered a nightmare on the ice.
Heading into the free skate section in the lead, Malinin capitulated, fluffing his signature quad axel jump and falling twice to the ice to plummet to eighth spot overall.
Stunned, he held his head in his hands after his disastrous performance and said afterwards his failure was "definitely mental".
"Maybe I was too confident it was going to go well. Honestly, it happened. I can't process what just happened," he told journalists.
Mikhail Shaidorov, the Kazakh skater who no-one had predicted would win gold, watched not just Malinin but his Japanese rivals make error after error and rode to an unlikely title.
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