Pride Goes Before Destruction at the 2026 Winter Olympics

I recently witnessed first-hand the Bible verse from Proverbs 16:8, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (ESV) at the 2026 Winter Olympics in the men’s figure skating event.

Ilia Malinin the prolific United States figure skater who dubbed himself the “Quad God” after repeatedly landing four revolution jumps, also known as the “Quad”. Other skaters have successfully landed quad jumps, but Malinin is the only skater to have successfully landed the most difficult quad jump, the quad axel, in a figure skating event. Malinin is also the only figure skater to have successfully landed seven quad jumps in a single competition and rarely falling when attempting to perform a quad jump, whereas other skaters often fell to the ice when attempting a quad jump.

With Malinin’s demonstrated prowess at successfully landing the quad jump, he was the odds-on favorite to win the gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics and was well on his way to achieving a gold medal after leading all the other competitors in the short program event.

However, in the men’s free-skating event Malinin fell two times when attempting a quad jump and several attempts at performing a quad jump were only successfully landed at lower difficulty jumps with fewer awarded points.

Malinin fell from first place after the short program to eighth place after the free skate, well-off the medal podium and even farther from the coveted gold medal which was won by Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan. Shaidorov a figure skater who first learned to skate at a skating rink located in a shopping center. Kazakhstan, a country who has now won a total of 2 Olympic gold medals in the winter games since 1994.

This turn of events in men’s figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics reminds me of a couple of verses from the Bible: Jesus’ teaching in Luke 14:11, “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (ESV) and Galatians 6:7, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap” (ESV).

So, is it possible God intervened in the Winter Olympics to humble Malinin? It wouldn’t be the first time, as God demonstrated His power to humble when He humbled King Nebuchadnezzar in Danial 4.

Hopefully, Ilia Malinin learns who is the one and only true God, which is the God of the Bible, the only One deserving to be associated with the term “God”.

Link to video of Ilia Malinin’s free skate at the Winter 2026 Olympics.

Blessings!

Mike