Team USA figure skating sensation Ilia Malinin entered Friday as an overwhelming favorite to take home gold in the men’s free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Skating phenom Ilia Malanin hinted at serious internal strife while appearing to cast his struggle in the men’s Olympic figure skating final as an “inevitable crash.”

Alysa Liu scored high marks with a 76.59 that puts her in third place going into the free skate on Thursday, just over two points behind Japan's Ami Nakai.