MILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Ilia Malinin delivered a powerful message about the dangers of social media and the unforgiving glare of the spotlight with an emotional gala performance on Saturday to close the figure skating programme at the Milano Cortina Games.
Barely a week on from his shock eighth-place finish in a men's singles event he had been expected to dominate, the American turned the ice into a quiet rebuttal of criticism and scrutiny.
Skating to "Fear" by American rapper NF - a raw song about mental health struggles and the feeling of losing control - and dressed in a grey hoodie and frayed jeans, the 21-year-old made it look like he was scrolling through his phone.
He flinched under imaginary flashbulbs. He crouched down and pulled his hood over his head.
Malinin and American teammate Alysa Liu, the women's champion, were among the headliners at the sport's traditional final bow that celebrates the stars of the previous two weeks.
Malinin had arrived in Milan as one of the overwhelming favourites for gold - among all the sports - having not lost in more than two seasons.
But the double world champion crumbled under the weight of Olympic expectations, and his free programme unravelled in stunning fashion as he suffered two falls and nailed only three of his planned seven quadruple jumps.
He said in an Instagram post earlier this week that his pressure-packed Olympic debut resulted in an "inevitable crash."
In Saturday's exhibition, he did one quadruple jump and then unleashed his trademark backflip with a one-footed landing and had the crowd on its feet roaring with what felt like both an appreciation of his talent and acknowledgement of the weight he had carried.
In a powerful programme ending, he made like he was tugging on headphones, to immediate silence.
The 20-year-old Liu, meanwhile, delighted the crowd with her carefree skate to "Stateside" by PinkPantheress and Zara Larsson.
Liu's Olympics could not have been more different than Malinin's, punctuated by a joy rediscovered after stepping away from the sport for two years.
She said she was at "peak happiness" competing.
Ice dance gold medallists Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron of France skated a lyrical programme to piano composition "Mad Rush," while pairs champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan skated to Justin Timberlake's "Can't Stop the Feeling."
Surprise men's singles champion Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov dressed up as Kung Fu Panda and was greeted afterward by martial artist and actor Jackie Chan.
(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
