Mikhail Shaidorov becomes Kazakhstan’s first Olympic figure skating champion in stunning upset

Mikhail Shaidorov delivered the skate of his life to become Kazakhstan’s first Olympic figure skating champion, producing a stunning free programme to claim gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

On a night expected to crown American favourite Ilia Malinin, it was Shaidorov who rewrote the script.

The 21-year-old surged from fifth place after the short programme, posting 198.64 points in the free skate and 291.58 overall to seize Olympic gold in one of the biggest upsets in recent men’s skating history.

A fearless free skate under Olympic pressure

Skating 20th, with four of the sport’s biggest names still to come, Shaidorov attacked his programme with rare composure.

He landed five quadruple jumps, including a quad lutz, quad toe loop and quad flip, earning a field-leading 114.68 technical element score. His 83.96 in programme components reflected growing maturity and performance quality that matched his technical firepower.

As contender after contender faltered, Shaidorov sat in the leaders’ chair watching the standings shift. The realisation appeared to dawn slowly, from potential bronze to silver, and finally Olympic gold.

“It was very surprising,” Shaidorov said after his victory. “It was my goal. It’s why I train every day and wake up to go to training.”

With the result, Shaidorov secured Kazakhstan’s first gold medal of the Milan Games and the country’s first Winter Olympic gold in any sport since 1994.

Malinin’s coronation unravels

The Olympic free skate had been widely billed as Malinin’s moment.

The reigning world champion and only skater in history to land the quadruple axel in competition entered the free skate with a slim lead and a planned seven-quad programme, the most difficult layout ever attempted at the Olympics.

Instead, his performance unravelled.

Malinin “popped” his planned quad axel, fell on his quad lutz and fell again on a double salchow. He finished with 264.49 points overall, a distant eighth place, nearly 30 points behind Shaidorov.

“I can’t process what just happened,” Malinin said. “It was not the skate that I wanted.”

Despite the disappointment, Malinin quickly congratulated the new champion, describing the skating community as “a big figure skating family”.

Japan completes the podium

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama claimed silver with 280.06 points, surviving minor errors to secure his second consecutive Olympic runner-up finish. Compatriot Shun Sato climbed from ninth after the short programme to win bronze with 274.90.

South Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan narrowly missed the podium in fourth, while Canada’s Stephen Gogolev produced the second-best free skate of the night to finish fifth overall.

A breakthrough that reshapes the sport

For much of the past two seasons, men’s figure skating has revolved around Malinin’s technical dominance. But in Milan, the Olympics once again proved that reputation alone cannot secure gold.

At 21, Mikhail Shaidorov transformed from contender to history-maker in a single performance.

And in doing so, he delivered Kazakhstan a landmark Olympic triumph that will resonate far beyond the ice.