U.S. Figure skater Ilia Malinin wins Fair Play Award for display of sportsmanship at Winter Olympics 2026
This year’s contest marked a historic turning point for the Fair Play movement, generating the highest level of fan engagement in the award’s history. The total number of votes cast by fans worldwide surpassed even the record-breaking engagement seen during the Paris 2024 Games—a remarkable feat for a Winter Olympiad and a clear signal of the growing global value placed on integrity and character in sport.
The initiative carries particular historical significance. The inaugural Fair Play Award was presented at Innsbruck 1964 to Italian bobsleigh athlete Eugenio Monti. During the competition, Monti provided a replacement bolt to British rivals Tony Nash and Robin Dixon after their sledge was damaged, enabling them to compete and ultimately win gold. Monti went on to claim bronze (one of six Olympic medals he earned during his career), but his gesture became one of the defining moments of Olympic sportsmanship.
“I am deeply humbled to receive this honor,” Malinin said, “especially given the incredible legacy of Eugenio Monti here in Italy.”
Sunil Sabharwal, CIFP President, said: “The Milano Cortina 2026 Games have proven that the spirit of Eugenio Monti is more alive today than ever before. To see our global “fair play community” engage in such record-breaking numbers—surpassing even the heights of Paris—shows that sportsmanship is a positive force to reckon with. Ilia’s gesture was the embodiment of ‘victory beyond the medal,’ and we are honored to recognize him in the very mountains where this movement began over 60 years ago.”
The other shortlisted moments include USA figure skater Amber Glenn’s shielding of Sakamoto Kaori from intrusive cameras, the Italian and USA curling teams who showed honesty during a disputed stone-touch, the Canadian women’s ice hockey team, who didn’t look for a forefeit despite a norovirus outbreak, Czech curler Julie Zelingrova self-reporting a nearly invisible rule violation, and Japanese figure skater Kagiyama Yuma’s heartfelt celebration of Shun Sato’s medal.
For more information, visit www.fairplayinternational.org.
