Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won his country’s first gold medal in figure skating at the Winter Olympics, while the favorite, Ilia Malinin of the United States, finished eighth after falling twice during his program.
Secured with five quadruple jumps, Shaidorov’s unexpected win in Italy on Friday also marked the first gold medal for Kazakhstan in any sport at a Winter Olympics since the games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. In those games, Vladimir Smirnov came first in cross-country skiing.
“To be honest, I still can’t believe it. I struggled with myself throughout the season. This season was very tough for me,” Shaidorov said in comments posted on the Telegram channel of Kazakhstan’s Olympic team. “In competitions, I tried about three times to perform five consecutive quadruple jumps, but none were successful. But today, everything went well. I was lucky and managed to do it.”
Shaidorov, 21, finished with a score of 291.58 in the men’s individual figure skating. Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, both of Japan, won silver and bronze, with scores of 280.06 and 274.90, respectively.
“The support from the fans in the stands was especially felt. Everything felt like a movie,” the gold medalist said. “This medal is very important both for me and for our country. I want figure skating to develop in Kazakhstan. I will put all my effort into this. I hope conditions will be created and opportunities given to the youth.”
Shaidorov also paid tribute to Denis Ten, a Kazakhstani figure skater who won bronze at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia in 2014 and was killed in an attempted robbery in Almaty in 2018. Ten was 25 years old.
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan congratulated Shaidorov, noting that sports fans and others at home are proud of his achievement.
“The Head of State decided to award Mikhail Shaidorov the Order of “Barys” II degree, and also expressed gratitude to the coaching staff, the Figure Skating Federation, and the leadership of the relevant ministry for their work,” the presidency said. The award that the skater will receive is one of Kazakhstan’s highest state honors.
Malinin, the two-time defending world champion, struggled through his program, causing the crowd to hush and gasp as it became apparent that he would not live up to expectations. Earlier in the games, Malinin helped the United States win a team gold medal with a performance that included a rare backflip. His Russia-born parents, Tatiana Malinina and Roman Skorniakov, skated at the elite level for Uzbekistan for many years.
Malinin and Shaidorov embraced after the final results of the individual contest. The American congratulated the Kazakhstani skater.
