Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan delivered a career night at the Milano Ice Skating Arena, landing five quadruple jumps to win gold with a total of 291.58 points in the men’s singles competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics, while pre‑event favorite Ilia Malinin of the United States faltered, finishing eighth with 264.49. The short program took place on February 10, 2026, and the free skate concluded the event on February 13, 2026, at the Forum di Milano, with 29 competitors from 21 nations taking part.
What happened, in brief
Shaidorov rose from fifth after the short program to take the Olympic title with a near‑flawless free skate, a performance built on five clean quads and high grade of execution on combinations, endurance and presentation. Japan left Milan with two medals, Yuma Kagiyama claiming silver on 280.06, and Shun Sato taking bronze on 274.90. The night will be remembered less for a single coronation than for an unexpected reversal, as Ilia Malinin, who led after the short with a 108.16, made a string of uncharacteristic errors in the free skate and dropped out of medal contention.
The free skate, the turning point
Shaidorov’s performance
Shaidorov skated with a controlled aggression, opening difficult elements cleanly and building momentum through the program. The five quads, combined with solid spins and steps, produced a free skate score of 198.64, the highest free skate total of the event, and the technical base that pushed him to a career best overall.
The favorites who slipped
Malinin went into the final as the overwhelming favorite, on the back of consecutive world titles and a season of technical landmarks, but his free skate unraveled, with a failed attempt at the quad axel among the costly mistakes. He described the skate bluntly afterward, saying, “I blew it.” Other top contenders, including earlier short‑program leaders, also made mistakes, which turned a likely procession into an open contest.
“I blew it,” Ilia Malinin said in the rinkside interview after the free skate, capturing the raw admission that followed one of the biggest upsets of the Games.
Podium and top results
The final top finishers were led by Shaidorov, followed by Kagiyama and Sato, with a tightly packed chase behind them that shows the depth and volatility of men’s skating at the moment.
Rank | Skater | Nation | Total | Short Program | Free Skate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Mikhail Shaidorov | KAZ | 291.58 | 92.94 | 198.64 |
2 | Yuma Kagiyama | JPN | 280.06 | 103.07 | 176.99 |
3 | Shun Sato | JPN | 274.90 | 88.70 | 186.20 |
4 | Cha Jun‑hwan | KOR | 273.92 | 92.72 | 181.20 |
5 | Stephen Gogolev | CAN | 273.78 | 87.41 | 186.37 |
6 | Petr Gumennik | AIN | 271.21 | 86.72 | 184.49 |
7 | Adam Siao Him Fa | FRA | 269.27 | 102.55 | 166.72 |
8 | Ilia Malinin | USA | 264.49 | 108.16 | 156.33 |
9 | Daniel Grassl | ITA | 263.71 | 93.46 | 170.25 |
10 | Nika Egadze | GEO | 260.27 | 85.11 | 175.16 |
The scoreboard numbers show how much weight the free skate carried, and how a strong technical night could leapfrog skaters through the standings.
Technical story and judging basics
Men’s skating at the moment lives and dies on quadruple jumps and combinations, with program construction often centered on maximizing technical element scores while preserving program components. The scoring shorthand is simple to understand, though complex in execution:
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Total Score = Technical Element Score (TES) + Program Component Score (PCS) - Deductions
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A clean run of quads, with positive grades of execution, will inflate TES quickly, while mistakes, falls and under‑rotations subtract through negative GOE and possible deductions. On this night, Shaidorov’s clean big elements and positive GOE outweighed the ritual of risk that others attempted and failed.
Multiple viewpoints, and why reactions diverged
- Supporters of the technical revolution argued that Shaidorov’s performance validated strategic aggression, landing top‑value elements and pairing them with good GOE to win outright.
- Those who lamented the toll of difficulty pointed to Malinin’s collapse as an example of how the Olympic stage amplifies even the smallest errors, and how pushing for the quad axel and seven‑quad layouts creates brittle runs under pressure.
- Coaches and commentators emphasized the psychological factor. Several observers said the team event earlier in the Games, where Malinin had helped the United States to gold on February 8, may have added to the emotional and physical load for skaters who then had to recompose for individual competition.
From the athletes’ side, Shaidorov spoke plainly about purpose and preparation, and Kagiyama and Sato framed their podiums as the result of careful execution rather than daring gambles.
Wider implications for the sport
Kazakhstan’s first Olympic figure skating gold is a milestone, and it speaks to the growing geographic diversity at the top of men’s skating. The result also shifts the narrative away from a presumed Malinin coronation to a more open field, at least for the next Olympic cycle. Practically, national programs will study the balance between pushing technical ceilings and building reliability under pressure.
Talking points from the rinkside coverage
- The contrast between short program leaders and free skate results underlined the event’s volatility.
- Broadcasters and pundits estimated that Malinin lost a large chunk of potential points through popped and downgraded jumps, turning what looked like a likely gold into an eighth place finish.
- The emotional scene after the medals, with winners and favorites consoling each other, underscored how personal and fragile Olympic performance can be.
What the numbers tell us
- Shaidorov’s 291.58 was built on a free skate nearly two points shy of 200, a level that proves decisive when the short program scores are compressed.
- Kagiyama’s 103.07 short program kept him in the fight even when his free skate was not his best overall showing for the season.
- Malinin’s short program advantage could not survive the free skate, a reminder that the long program still determines Olympic medals.
Looking ahead
The men’s result will reverberate through the 2026 season, shaping athlete choices about how many high‑risk elements to include in competition. For Malinin there will be questions, but also time to recalibrate; at 21 he remains a generational talent. For Shaidorov and the Kazakh program, the gold is a chance to build legacy and domestic momentum for the sport.
Pairs and women’s singles follow later in the schedule, and the wider figure skating program will continue to test how well athletes can manage the intense Olympic rhythm, especially for those who compete in both team and individual events.
Final note
Olympic sport rarely follows a script, and the men’s figure skating competition at Milano Cortina 2026 provided a reminder of that old truth. Technical ambition, mental composure and a little luck combined in a way that made this one of the most talked about nights of the Winter Games.
By David Anderson