Kazakhstan’s Shaidorov Wins Historic Men’s Figure-Skating Gold
Mikhail Shaidorov, 20, became Kazakhstan’s first Olympic men’s figure-skating champion Friday night in Milan, overturning a 4.9-point deficit with a near-perfect free skate that scored 198.64 and lifted him to 291.58 overall.
Shaidorov Lands Four Quads to Overtake Kagiyama
Skating last among medal contenders, Shaidorov opened with a triple Axel–quad Salchow combination that drew mostly +4 and +5 grades of execution. Three more quads followed before a slight under-rotation on his final quad Lutz trimmed fewer than two points. The personal-best segment catapulted him past Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and set off a wave of Kazakh flags in the upper bowl. “I simply performed everything my coaches and I drilled for years,” Shaidorov told reporters, voice cracking. “Life rewarded me tonight.”
Malinin Quad Gamble Fails, Drops to Eighth
Ilia Malinin entered the free skate with a short-program lead and the only Olympic quad Axel on record. The plan collapsed in 30 seconds: he popped the Axel, doubled a planned quad loop, and fell on both quad Lutz and quad Salchow attempts. The 156.33 segment score—more than 80 points below his season high—left him 15th in the free and eighth overall. “The arena never stopped cheering, but inside I felt everything collapse,” the American said. He leaves Milan with team-event gold and a ticket to March’s World Championships in Prague.
Japan Claims Silver and Bronze
Yuma Kagiyama, 2022 Olympic silver medalist, touched down on a quad flip and under-rotated a quad Salchow yet totaled 280.06 for his fourth global runner-up finish. Teen teammate Shun Sato vaulted from ninth to third with a “Firebird” program that included two quad toes and a quad Lutz; 274.90 gave the 19-year-old his first individual Olympic medal. “I pictured my clean team-event skate and hit replay,” Sato said.
Under-Rotation Calls Shuffle Top Ten
Technical-panel scrutiny on jump edges and quarter-landings quietly reordered the standings. Korea’s Junhwan Cha brushed the boards after a quad-toe fall yet climbed to fourth on 273.92, nudging Canada’s Stephen Gogolev—186.37, the evening’s second-best free—into fifth by 0.14. France’s Adam Siao Him Fa and Italy’s Daniel Grassl each lost points on downgraded quad Lutzes, sinking to seventh and ninth, while Georgia’s Nika Egadze rose from 15th to 10th by avoiding any under-rotation calls on seven clean triples.
Ten Men Top 180 Points for First Time
Ten of 24 finalists broke the 180-point free-skate barrier, an Olympic-era record. Officials credit a relaxed resurfacing schedule and a midnight crowd that stayed loud until the final bow. “Everyone here can quad; tonight was about who kept their blades under them,” NBC analyst Tanith White said. The depth shows how fast the technical baseline has risen since Nathan Chen’s five-quad victory in 2022.
Sources: International Skating Union event protocols; Milano Cortina 2026 media update
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