The rise and sudden fall of American figure skater Ilia Malinin has been a stark reminder that at the Winter Olympics, as in life, anything can happen. A single moment can snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat and vice versa. For reigning world champion Malinin, the self described “Quad God,”\, expectations were especially high due to an avalanche of pre-competition stories describing his winning an individual gold medal as all but a formality. Yet despite not losing a competition for more than two years, he faltered in the Men’s long program, missing several of his jumps and finishing eighth in the final standings.
Malinin’s media strategy in the aftermath of his shocking defeat, has crisis communication lessons about how to cope with an unexpected situation.
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- Don’t run away – Malinin could have stormed off and refused to do an interview. While it might have felt better for him to seek refuge and give himself time to process, doing so would have allowed others to shape the narrative without him. When facing a crisis, stonewalling and refusing to say anything to the media only leads to additional questions. Facing reporters allows the perspective of the person or organization to be included and the story spun in a more positive way.
- Accept responsibility – Malinin took ownership of his poor performance, by saying “I blew it.” He didn’t blame the ice or his coaches. In a crisis, having a chosen spokesperson acknowledge the facts about what happened instead of trying to deflect blame or deny guilt is an important first step to building trust with the public.
- Optics are important – Few people would want to have a camera in their face at the worst moment of their life. While he didn’t look happy, Malinin didn’t show anger and instead made a point of congratulating the skater who won the gold medal. It showed maturity and control, two traits that inspire confidence during a crisis.
- Focus on the future – Malinin didn’t leave Milan after his event. He’s stuck around to support his fellow skaters, plans to skate in the exhibition, and defend his world title in the upcoming World Championships. In later interviews, the 21-year-old vowed to use how he felt to formulate a different strategy for the next Olympics in 2030. He also used his platform to criticize online trolling and make a point about the importance of mental health awareness, posting on his Instagram account: “On the world’s biggest stage, those who appear the strongest may still be fighting invisible battles on the inside.” Good crisis messaging should include steps being taken to prevent a similar situation in the future.
- Luck favors the prepared – One of the best ways to handle a crisis is to have a plan in place ahead of time, which Malinin may or may not have had. At Teak Media, we create crisis communication guides that help our clients know how to respond when something unexpected happens. This includes knowing who would be the best spokesperson in advance, what the protocol should be if a reporter reaches out to the organization, staff, and board, the possible statements to match different potential scenarios, and much more.
Ilia Malinin’s post-loss media strategy is already generating positive results. He’s gotten supportive messages from several sports luminaries including Olympic Gold medalists gymnast Simone Biles, and figure skater Nathan Chen, both of whom had high profile struggles in front of millions of people only to triumph over their Olympic demons four years later. Malinin has taken charge of his narrative and has started a process that will hopefully lead him to gold in 2030.
Teak Media is here to help If you find yourself or your organization in need of crisis communications guidance.
