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Mikhail Shaidorov Claims Olympic Gold as Favorite Ilia Malinin Slips to Eighth

The Kazakh skater delivered a clean, career-best free skate after the U.S. leader from the short program faltered, ending Malinin’s two-year unbeaten run.

Overview

  • Shaidorov won with 291.58 points for Kazakhstan, with Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama taking silver and Shun Sato earning bronze.
  • Ilia Malinin, who led comfortably after the short program, fell twice in the free skate and finished eighth overall with 264.49 points.
  • Malinin’s free skate unraveled with multiple downgraded elements, including turning his planned quadruple axel into a single and posting just 156.33 in the segment.
  • The victory marked Kazakhstan’s first gold medal of these Winter Games, secured by Shaidorov’s composed, clean program in a final where many contenders stumbled.
  • In a separate development at the Games, Ukrainian skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych’s disqualification over a commemorative helmet was upheld when his appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport was denied.