Inside the arena when Ilia Malinin fell. How Mikhail Shaidorov won gold

Was the Quad God’s fall from heaven inevitable? What was it like inside the arena when Ilia Malinin fell? How does figure skating judging work anyway? Who’s in love at the Olympics? Join host A Martínez along with NPR’s Rachel Treisman, Oregon Public Radio’s Lillian Karabaic and WGBH’s Edgar B. Herwick III for answers to all of these questions and more. NPR is bringing you the latest from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina with “Up First Winter Games.” 🔔 Subscribe and never miss an episode: bit.ly/4oVAImb 🔔 Subscribe to our daily Olympics newsletter: npr.org/wintergames ---------------------------- SUBSCRIBE TO OTHER NPR CHANNELS NPR Music:    / @nprmusic   NPR Podcasts:    / @nprpodcasts   Fresh Air:    / @thisisfreshair   ---------------------------- FOLLOW NPR ELSEWHERE https://www.npr.org   / npr     / npr     / npr   #olympics #olympics2026