Ilia Malinin walked through the tunnels beneath the Milano Ice Skating Arena on Friday night still searching for an explanation after a free skate that collapsed into a near-complete meltdown. The American, widely dubbed the “Quad God,” fell twice and made multiple costly errors that sent him tumbling off the podium. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan produced the clean, high-risk program needed to capitalize, finishing with 291.58 points to claim Olympic gold. A stunned audience watched the upset unfold as Shaidorov took his victory lap amid the hush that followed.
Key Takeaways
- Mikhail Shaidorov won gold with a career-best total of 291.58 points, producing five clean quads in the free skate.
- Ilia Malinin, 21, fell twice and finished eighth with 264.49 points, ending a 14-competition unbeaten streak that stretched more than two years.
- Yuma Kagiyama earned his second straight Olympic silver and Shun Sato took bronze for Japan (official totals reported at the Games).
- Malinin had planned a program with a record-tying seven quads and attempted the quad axel — a jump only he has landed historically — but bailed out mid-attempt.
- Malinin had appeared composed in warmups and practiced earlier at the U.S. training base in Bergamo but said Olympic nerves overwhelmed him during the free skate.
- The arena included high-profile spectators such as Nathan Chen, Simone Biles and actor Jeff Goldblum, underlining the event’s profile.
Background
The Milan-Cortina 2026 Games have been a stage for technical escalation in men’s figure skating, with athletes attempting more high-difficulty quads than in previous Olympics. Ilia Malinin entered the individual competition as the favorite: at 21 he had claimed two world titles and sustained an unbeaten run across 14 competitions over more than two years. His programs have pushed technical boundaries, routinely featuring multiple quadruple jumps and a publicly discussed attempt at the quad axel.
Across the team event and the short program, the narrative had already begun to shift. Malinin lost to Yuma Kagiyama in a team short program head-to-head, and while he later helped clinch team gold for the United States, he acknowledged that Olympic pressure was creeping in. In the individual short program Tuesday night he recovered his form sufficiently to take a roughly five-point lead heading into Friday’s free skate, positioning him as the clear frontrunner on paper.
Main Event
Malinin’s pre-competition routine appeared steady: an early practice session in Bergamo and a flawless warmup with no practice falls while wearing his signature black-and-gold costume. When his free skate began, he opened with a quad flip as planned, then attempted the quad axel and abandoned the effort mid-attempt. He regrouped to land a quad lutz, but timing issues followed.
A doubled quad loop and a fall on a subsequent quad lutz prevented Malinin from completing the intended lutz-triple toe combination. His final high-value pass, intended as a quad salchow–triple axel sequence, deteriorated into a double salchow and another fall. By the time the music ended he had dropped from favorite to eighth place.
Shaidorov, who was sixth after the short, skated one of the night’s most technically ambitious and controlled programs. The 21-year-old executed five quadruple jumps and avoided the mistakes that marred several competitors’ routines. His performance earned Kazakhstan its first gold at these Winter Games and marked a personal career high for the young jumper.
Analysis & Implications
This result is one of the more dramatic upsets in recent figure skating history, underscoring how Olympic pressure can reorder expected outcomes even in a sport measured in precise base values and grades of execution. Malinin’s program carried enormous technical risk; when many high-difficulty elements are attempted, the margin for error narrows and execution becomes paramount. His mistakes erased a substantial technical and component advantage that had been built in the short program.
For Shaidorov and Kazakhstan, the gold is a watershed moment that may boost investment and attention for skating programs back home. Shaidorov’s combination of athleticism and improved consistency at a single event demonstrates that technical ambition, when delivered cleanly, can trump superior difficulty carried out imperfectly. Federations and coaching teams worldwide will evaluate whether to prioritize consistent delivery of slightly lower difficulty or to continue pushing the technical ceiling.
For Malinin, the immediate questions are psychological and programmatic: whether the errors were primarily the result of Olympic-specific nerves, a misjudgment in pacing, or other factors such as timing and recovery between jumps. His unbeaten streak and status as a sport-changing jumper mean his long-term prospects remain strong, but the loss will likely prompt adjustments in competition planning and mental preparation ahead of worlds and Grand Prix events.
Comparison & Data
| Skater | Nation | Total Score | Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mikhail Shaidorov | Kazakhstan | 291.58 | 1 |
| Ilia Malinin | United States | 264.49 | 8 |
The table highlights the gap between Shaidorov’s career-best total and Malinin’s score on the night. A near-27-point swing reflects the combined impact of Shaidorov’s high base-value jumps executed cleanly and Malinin’s downgraded elements and falls. Official Olympics results provide full segment breakdowns for technical element scores (TES) and program component scores (PCS) for those seeking play-by-play numerical detail.
Reactions & Quotes
“I still can’t process what happened,”
Ilia Malinin, athlete
Malinin described being overwhelmed by Olympic nerves and uncertainty about what specifically went wrong. He emphasized that in daily practice he had felt ready, but the unique stress of the Games altered how the performance unfolded.
“Winning gold was my goal,”
Mikhail Shaidorov, athlete
Shaidorov spoke simply about his focus and routine, framing the victory as the outcome of persistent training and a long-term objective.
“He almost never makes mistakes,”
Daniel Grassl, Italy, competitor
Fellow skaters and commentators expressed surprise at Malinin’s errors, noting that his consistency has been a defining trait prior to this competition.
Unconfirmed
- Whether equipment issues (skate fit or blade condition) contributed to Malinin’s falls has not been reported or verified.
- Any acute illness, injury or medical factor affecting Malinin on competition day has not been publicly confirmed.
- Assertions that a specific coaching decision or last-minute program change caused the errors remain unverified.
Bottom Line
The free skate in Milan produced one of the event’s most dramatic reversals: a heavily favored, technically pioneering skater undone by mistakes, and a talented but inconsistent rival seizing the moment with a near-flawless performance. For Ilia Malinin, the result will be a significant setback to process and learn from, not necessarily a final judgment on his trajectory.
Mikhail Shaidorov’s gold will reverberate beyond the medal ceremony, elevating Kazakhstan on the Olympic figure skating map and reminding the sport that execution under pressure can outweigh planned difficulty. The coming months will show whether teams adjust strategies toward steadier delivery or continue to push technical boundaries in search of higher ceilings.
Sources
- AP News (news agency) — event report and athlete quotes
- Olympics.com (official) — official results and segment score breakdowns from Milan-Cortina 2026