Ilia Malinin says he has something special planned for Olympic gala skate

Ilia Malinin finished eighth in the Olympic free skate and will perform in the figure skating gala on Saturday; he told NBC he has something special planned for fans.

Ilia Malinin entered the individual Olympic free skate as a leading contender but finished eighth and did not win an individual medal. The article reports he will skate again at the figure skating gala on Saturday, an exhibition that does not affect competition results. In a conversation with NBC's Mike Tirico, Malinin said he has "something pretty special" planned for the gala and hopes to bring emotion and energy to the rink. The piece also notes he earned a gold medal in the team event earlier in the Games and said the experience motivates him toward the 2030 Olympics. Key details: - Malinin had been the heavy favorite and had won his previous 14 competitions before the Games, according to the article. - He finished eighth in the individual free skate and did not medal in that event. - He won a gold medal as part of the team event earlier in the Olympics and has worn that medal during his time in Milan. - The figure skating gala on Saturday is an exhibition performance and does not count toward competition standings. - Malinin told NBC he has "something pretty special" planned and hopes to bring emotion and energy to the rink. - He said the Olympics will motivate him to continue skating toward the 2030 Games. Summary: The gala offers Malinin a final Olympic appearance this week without competitive scoring. He has signaled a planned performance and expressed continued motivation for future Games; how the gala performance is received is undetermined at this time.