Opinion piece with strong narrative framing favoring the underdog and emphasizing systemic inequalities. Opens with 'there's no other way to say this—he choked' which is harsh characterization. Extensive focus on national resource disparities and how Shaidorov lacked advantages of wealthy countries. Uses Malinin's failure primarily as vehicle to discuss global inequality in sports. Valid points but heavy editorial framing.
Narrative FramingSelective Omission
“'Best athlete from richest country does it again' is less a story than a fact of life. In Olympic competition, the longitudinal triumph of the overdog is largely a matter of national inequities.”
“'I don't have the same conditions as other top athletes from Japan, the U.S., South Korea, and so on,' Shaidorov said in that same 2025 interview.”
Opinion piece reframing Malinin's failure as 'teaching moment' for youth athletes and parents. Uses it as vehicle to discuss failure, parenting, and adolescent brain development. Includes academic source about 'Learning to Fail' course. While well-intentioned, the article uses Malinin's very public failure as extended metaphor for broader parenting lessons, which feels somewhat exploitative of his moment. Heavy narrative framing.
Narrative FramingAppeal to Emotion
“'Malinin's failure was a teaching moment for all of us—young athletes, parents, and otherwise—but it's not a disaster unless we allow it to be.'”
“'It's not good to fail. It's just also not bad to fail. It's just natural.'”
Uses loaded language in headline with 'Heartbreak' and 'Breaks Under Pressure' and 'Fails To Medal'—presenting the story with more emotional framing than necessary. The phrase 'which many claim helped contribute to the loss' regarding media attention is presented without evidence. Otherwise factual reporting with appropriate quotes and context about the winner.
Loaded Language
“'Before getting into my starting pose, those experiences, memories and thoughts and pressure, it just felt so overwhelming,' he said.”
“Malinin is being praised for immediately walking over to Shaidorov to embrace and congratulate him after the results were announced.”
Strong editorial framing that explicitly calls out media for overlooking Shaidorov—'Put some respect on Shaidorov's name.' Uses 'disaster' and describes other skaters as 'dreadful.' The article makes valid point about Shaidorov deserving recognition but uses loaded language and shows frustration with narrative focus on Malinin. More opinion-driven than straight reporting while making legitimate analytical points.
Loaded LanguageNarrative Framing
“'His performance will be analyzed to shreds, including here. But first: Put some respect on Shaidorov's name. His victory is deserving.'”
“'Only the pettiest haters would imagine such a harsh word would lead to a discussion about Malinin. Shockingly, here we are.'”
Uses 'Odd Reason' in headline which is clickbaity—his hot-mic comment about Beijing 2022 is not particularly 'odd,' just an emotional reaction. The article accurately reports the contradiction between his earlier statements about the 2022 snub motivating him and his hot-mic moment. Factual but frames the story around the hot-mic moment more than necessary.
Anchoring
“'Beijing, I would not have skated like that,' Malinin waited for his score in the 'kiss-and-cry' area and said.”
“'To be honest, I think if it wasn't for that decision, I don't think I'd be here in this moment,' he told CBS before the competition.”
Uses 'disaster' in headline and focuses heavily on the surprise of the result. The article emphasizes Shaidorov's surprise and includes the detail about Malinin canceling his media day, which is newsworthy. Slight sensationalism in framing but facts are accurate. The praise for Malinin's class is appropriate context.
Loaded Language
“'I was watching Ilia, and I was really supporting him,' Shaidorov said through a translator. 'I was rooting for him, and he started to make mistakes. I was really surprised, because he really rarely makes mistakes.'”
“A day after his disappointing result, Malinin opted for a surprise change by canceling his media day scheduled for Saturday.”
Straightforward sports reporting with emphasis on the upset and disappointment among fans. Uses 'folly' which is slightly judgmental but otherwise factual. Includes relevant context about his previous dominance and the winner. The article focuses heavily on the U.S. perspective but doesn't distort the facts of what happened.
“'I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit.'”
“Malinin's finish sparked widespread disappointment among Team USA and ice skating fans across social media.”
Focuses on hot-mic moment with appropriate context about the contradiction with his previous statements. Uses 'disappointing' which is fair characterization. The article balances the hot-mic quote with Malinin's own acknowledgment of his emotions and lack of Olympic experience. Slight emphasis on the drama of the moment but factually grounded.
“'Beijing, I would not have skated like that,' he said, according to USA Today.”
“'To be honest, I think if it wasn't for that decision, I don't think I'd be here in this moment,' he said.”
Focuses on reaction from figure skating community including past champions like Scott Hamilton and Nathan Chen. Uses 'nightmare' and 'mistake-ridden' but these accurately describe the performance. Balanced inclusion of expert perspectives explaining the Olympic pressure context. Slight emphasis on shock value but grounded in factual quotes.
“'I'm in shock,' NBC Sports Olympic correspondent and 1984 gold medalist Scott Hamilton said on Friday. 'There was no way he could lose.'”
“'One of the hardest parts about performing for a huge sold-out crowd is you can viscerally feel the reaction from the crowd,' Chen said.”
Balanced reporting with historical context comparing Malinin's situation to Nathan Chen's 2018 experience. Uses 'Quad god' in quotes and 'calamitous' but otherwise maintains neutral tone. Includes quotes from competitors showing perspective and empathy. Slight emphasis on redemption narrative but doesn't sensationalize the failure itself.
Narrative Framing
“'I can't go back and change it, even though I would love to,' Malinin said, candidly. 'You have to take what happened or what you've learned from this and really just change or decide what you want to do for the future, and how to approach things.'”
“'We saw that even he is human,' Grassl said, 'and these things can happen to anyone.'”
Newsletter format providing straightforward recap with additional Olympic context. Uses 'disaster' and 'dreadful' but in factual description of performance quality. The article balances coverage of Malinin's failure with other Olympic storylines and includes lighthearted content about athlete couples. No significant bias detected.
“But Malinin missed his first combo and could never regain his composure in what was likely his worst performance in a major competition in quite some time.”
“In honor of Valentine's Day, we thought we should look at some of the athlete couples at the Games.”
Reuters wire service report with professional neutral tone. Uses 'meltdown' and 'collapse' but in accurate description of performance quality. Good context about Simone Biles being present and mental health parallels. Includes sport psychologist perspective adding educational value. Balanced coverage of winner and performance details.
“'I blew it,' he said bluntly. 'It just felt so overwhelming.'”
“'It's a really stressful environment,' Werthner told Reuters. 'A lot of years have gone into getting to that one point in time, it is one moment in time where you're asking yourself to step up in that moment.'”
Straightforward account focusing on Malinin's own explanation for what happened. Uses 'nightmare' in headline which is slightly sensational but the body text is factual and heavily quotes Malinin directly. Balanced coverage of the winner and other medalists. The article lets Malinin's words speak for themselves without adding much editorial interpretation.
“'I just had so many thoughts and memories flood right before I got into my starting pose, and almost, I think, it maybe overwhelmed me a little bit.'”
“'The pressure of the Olympics, it's really something different, and I think not a lot of people understand that.'”
NPR interview format providing balanced coverage with reporter on-scene perspective. Uses 'Gods can fall' as literary opening but maintains neutral tone throughout. Includes good context about the atmosphere and crowd reaction. Appropriately notes Malinin still won team gold. Straightforward Q&A format minimizes bias.
“'And the question people around me were asking wasn't whether Malinin would win but, how would he do it?'”
“'The crowd started off so energized for his performance, and once he got started, it just totally felt like the wind had been knocked out of everyone.'”
Associated Press wire report with professional neutral tone. Uses 'fell apart' but in accurate description. Good historical parallel to Nathan Chen's 2018 experience providing helpful context. Balanced coverage of both Malinin's failure and Shaidorov's achievement. Includes technical details and quotes from multiple skaters. Minimal editorializing.
“'I can't go back and change it, even though I would love to,' Malinin said, candidly.”
“'It's really difficult when everyone assumes that he will get gold. There's this pressure,' said Japan's Yuma Kagiyama.”
Newsletter recap format providing context within broader Olympic coverage. Uses 'shocking' and 'stunner' which accurately reflect the unexpected nature of the result. Balanced coverage including links to other Olympic stories. The breakdown of his dominance provides helpful context for why this was surprising. Minimal bias.
“'He's just 21, and he was controversially passed over for the Olympic team four years ago.'”
“'It's the day after, and we're still reeling from what happened last night at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.'”
Brief factual report with minimal framing. Uses nickname 'Quad God' but otherwise sticks to straightforward description of events. The article is extremely short, presenting only basic facts about the location, the failed move, and score comparison without editorializing or adding emotional context.
“Nicknamed 'Quad God' after his quadruple axel, Malinin is the first and only skater to successfully land the move in international competition.”
“He failed to pull off the move on Friday, and scored 156.33, a far cry from the world record of 238.24 he set in December last year.”
Technical, analytical piece that examines the mechanics of how the upset happened through scoring system. Uses 'meltdown' and 'collapse' but in context of explaining the technical scoring. The article is focused on the 'how' rather than the emotional drama, providing detailed analysis of what went wrong technically rather than just describing the failure.
“What made the result feel even closer to inevitable was what happened around him. One by one, the contenders who could realistically threaten him faltered.”
“What unfolded in Milan was not just an Olympic upset. It was a case study in how modern figure skating scoring works at its most unforgiving.”
Brief, straightforward report that cuts off mid-sentence. Presents facts about Malinin's expected dominance and his actual performance without heavy editorial framing. Uses 'stunning' which is accurate to the unexpected nature. The incomplete nature of the article makes full assessment difficult but what's present is factual.
“'The four-time U.S. champion has outscored his competitors by as much as 10, 30, or 40 points in the past. So essentially, he was untouchable, and the battle was for silver and bronze.'”
“'All he had to do was skate the free program that had made history, with seven quad jumps, and he would be the indisputable champion.'”
Concise, fact-focused reporting. Uses direct quote 'I blew it' in headline which is accurate to what Malinin said. Presents the essential facts—his lead, his falls, his final placement—without embellishment or emotional framing. The article is brief but complete, covering what happened without speculation or loaded language.
“'I blew it,' Malinin said afterward. 'That's honestly the first thing that came to my mind.'”
“He left the ice Friday night in eighth place. The 21-year-old American fell twice during his free skate, a performance that reshaped the standings and ended a two-plus year unbeaten streak spanning 14 full competitions.”
