One Extraordinary Photo: Catching Malinin's unexpected fall
Ilia Malinin of the United States falls during the men's free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. Credit: AP/Natacha Pisarenko
MILAN — Natacha Pisarenko is a photojournalist with a 20-plus year career at The Associated Press in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is the news director for the Southern Cone.
Why this photo?
We were all expecting Olympic figure skater Ilia Malinin to win gold. The moment we were expecting to capture as the photo was his popular backflip, which he has landed in previous performances. As many times in life, things did not go as we expected. There was no way I would imagine him falling twice and losing the gold. This was the moment he fell.
How I made this photo
I shot it with a 70-200mm lens. He fell right in front of me, after the quad axel, and I was glad I did not shoot with a long lens.
Why this photo works
It works because this is what we do. We plan but we accommodate for unexpected moments. This moment changed the results.
More Olympics
