Who is Mikhail Shaidorov? Meet Kazakhstan’s first Winter Olympic champion in 32 years

The men’s free skate at the 2026 Winter Olympics was expected to belong to American favorite Ilia Malinin. Instead, it became the defining moment of Mikhail Shaidorov, a 21-year-old from Almaty who delivered a career-best performance to claim Kazakhstan’s first-ever Olympic figure skating gold.

Shaidorov stunned the field on Friday night, January 13 by landing five quadruple jumps in the free skate, earning 198.64 points and a total score of 291.58 to seal the title. Malinin, widely tipped for gold, endured a difficult program with two falls and finished eighth overall. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took silver and bronze, respectively, with Kagiyama becoming Japan’s most decorated Olympic skater.

Who is Mikhail Shaidorov?

Mikhail Shaidorov is a Kazakhstani figure skater who achieved historic success by winning the gold medal in men's singles at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina.

Born on June 25, 2004, in Almaty, Shaidorov began skating in 2010 and represents the Altynalmas club. A student by profession, he trains primarily in Almaty and Sochi and is coached by 1994 Olympic champion Alexei Urmanov, alongside Ivan Righini. His father, Stanislav Shaidorov, is also a figure skating coach.

Shaidorov has already carved out a reputation as a technical innovator. He is the first skater to land a triple Axel–quadruple toe loop combination in competition at the 2024 Grand Prix de France and the first to complete a triple Axel–Euler–quadruple Salchow at the 2024 ISU Grand Prix Final. In 2025, he became the first Kazakh skater in a decade to win an ISU Championship title at the Four Continents Championships, according to the International Skating Union.

Inspired by two-time Olympic champion Yuzuru Hanyu, Shaidorov’s Olympic triumph marks a historic breakthrough for Kazakhstan in figure skating, as he won gold, his country's first Winter Olympic gold medal in 32 years.