Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov captured the gold medal at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Italy, earning Kazakhstan’s first medal of the four-year Olympic cycle.
Climbing from fifth to first
After the short program, Shaidorov stood in fifth place with 92.94 points. In the free skate, he landed five quadruple jumps and received 198.64 points from the judges, bringing his total to 291.58 points and securing the Olympic title.
His main rivals included American Ilia Malinin, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa. All three struggled in the free skate, allowing Shaidorov to move ahead and win gold.
Training and influences
Shaidorov began skating in 2010 under the guidance of his father, Stanislav Shaidorov, a multiple Kazakh national champion. In 2018, he moved to Sochi, where Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov became his coach.
Shaidorov has cited Japanese skating legend Yuzuru Hanyu as his sporting idol.
Breakthrough season before the Olympics
The 20-year-old Kazakhstani gained momentum during the 2024-2025 pre-Olympic season, winning the Four Continents Championships in Seoul and taking bronze at the Asian Winter Games in Harbin.
According to the International Skating Union, Shaidorov became the first skater to land a triple Axel-quadruple toe loop combination and the first to perform a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow in competition.
Kazakhstan’s presence at the Games
The Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics are being held from Feb. 6 to Feb. 22. Kazakhstan is represented by 36 athletes competing in 10 sports.
