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MILAN — In a shocking turn of events in men's figure skating, Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov won the gold medal with a total score of 291.58 at the 2026 Winter Olympics. After finishing fourth in the short program with a 92.94, Shaidorov skated a near-perfect free skate that had the crowd on its feet and earned a score of 198.64.
The 21-year-old is the first skater representing Kazakhstan to win an Olympic figure skating title.
Silver and bronze went to a pair of skaters from Japan Yuma Kagiyama (280.06) and Shun Sato (274.90). Kagiyama was among the many skaters to trip and fall multiple times during the free skate.
More: Ilia Malinin has disastrous Olympics meltdown, finishes 8th: 'I blew it''
The most egregious of those errors coming from U.S. superstar skater Ilia Malinin, who was a lock for the gold medal after a 108.16 short program and a free skate with an unbeatable technical base score. Malinin fell twice, didn't fully execute multiple elements and looked pained throughout this program before ending with a 156.33 score for 264.49 overall and 8th place.
This gold medal was Kazakhstan's first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The country last medalled in men's singles in 2014, when the late Denis Ten won bronze.
Shaidorov landed five quadruple jumps to take first place, and fell to the ice at the end of his program — skated to "The Diva Dance" — laying flat on his back with his hands over his face in joy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kazakhstan wins gold medal in figure skating after Ilia Malinin falls
Continue reading...
The 21-year-old is the first skater representing Kazakhstan to win an Olympic figure skating title.
Silver and bronze went to a pair of skaters from Japan Yuma Kagiyama (280.06) and Shun Sato (274.90). Kagiyama was among the many skaters to trip and fall multiple times during the free skate.
More: Ilia Malinin has disastrous Olympics meltdown, finishes 8th: 'I blew it''
The most egregious of those errors coming from U.S. superstar skater Ilia Malinin, who was a lock for the gold medal after a 108.16 short program and a free skate with an unbeatable technical base score. Malinin fell twice, didn't fully execute multiple elements and looked pained throughout this program before ending with a 156.33 score for 264.49 overall and 8th place.
This gold medal was Kazakhstan's first medal of the 2026 Winter Olympics. The country last medalled in men's singles in 2014, when the late Denis Ten won bronze.
Shaidorov landed five quadruple jumps to take first place, and fell to the ice at the end of his program — skated to "The Diva Dance" — laying flat on his back with his hands over his face in joy.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Kazakhstan wins gold medal in figure skating after Ilia Malinin falls
Continue reading...
