Winter Olympics 2026 live updates: Mikaela Shiffrin takes slalom gold, Ogden earns U.S. silver, Day 12 latest

Over to contributor Amy Cuddy…

✍️ A generation-leading talent, American figure skater Malinin was, by any measure, unbeatable. And then the Olympics happened and he did not win a medal.

He admitted he’d underestimated the pressure. But he is far from the only dominant athlete who has struggled at the Olympics.

As a social psychologist who has spent decades studying and writing about power, presence, and the psychology of performing under pressure, I can explain it with science.

This is not a story about weakness. This is a story about what happens when the human nervous system confronts a challenge it was never designed to face. Dive deeper into the phenomenon below.

This story is part of Peak, The Athletic’s desk covering the mental side of sports. Sign up for Peak’s newsletter here.