At the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, a sensation occurred in figure skating. American figure skater Ilya Malinin, who was considered the main favorite for the gold medal, finished only eighth.
Malinin started with the best result in the short program, scoring 108.16 points; however, his performance in the free program ended in failure. During his routine, he fell twice, leading to a collapse in the overall standings. Thus, instead of the coveted medal, the athlete ended up off the podium.
New Olympic Champion
The gold medal at the Olympic Games was won by Kazakh Mikhail Shaidurov, becoming the first figure skater from Kazakhstan to win a gold medal in figure skating. His final score was 291.58 points, which became the best achievement of his career. Shaidurov impressed everyone by flawlessly executing the complex element triple axel + euler + quadruple salchow.
Malinin's Rivals
Fans also enjoyed the performances of the Japanese skaters, Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato, who won the silver and bronze medals, respectively. This was yet another confirmation of the increasing level of competition in figure skating on the international stage.
It is worth noting that Malinin, who won a gold medal in the team competition, was unable to repeat his success at the individual level, which came as a shock to his fans and experts.
The sensational result highlights the dynamics of figure skating development and shows that even favorites can face unexpected difficulties at the highest level.
