The Olympic men’s free skate was supposed to be the coronation of Ilia Malinin.
Instead, it became one of the most stunning upsets in recent Olympic figure skating history.
Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov delivered the performance of his life Friday night, posting 198.64 points in the free skate (291.58 points overall) to win the Olympic title and flip the script on a competition many believed was already decided.
Skating 20th with four of the sport’s top contenders to go, Shaidorov attacked his program with fearless technical content and composure well beyond his 21 years. His 114.68 technical element score led the field, and his 83.96 in program components reflected the growing maturity in his skating. As he sat in the “champions seat” while heavy hitter, after heavy hitter, fell prey to Olympic nerves, Shaidorov seemingly took time to understand what was happening, the realization that he had won a bronze, then silver, then an Olympic gold medal, visibly dawning on his face with each subsequent performance.
“It was very surprising. [Malinin is] very important for figure skating,” Shaidorov said after winning the Olympic gold medal. But that didn’t mean he was any less proud of his achievement. “It was my goal. It’s why I’m training every day, and why I wake up and go to the training. That’s it.”
After taking the ice for what everyone assumed was going to be a career-defining moment, Malinin “popped” his planned quad Axel, fell on his quad Lutz, and fell again on a double salchow. After the final notes of his “A Voice,” free skated ended, he covered his face with his hands, seemingly distraught.
“I can’t process what just happened,” Malinin said immediately after. “I’m still so grateful that I was able to put in this work and effort to get to where I am. But of course, it was not the skate that I wanted.”
Leaving the Kiss and Cry where he received scores nearly 82 points behind his record-breaking personal best, Malinin barely let a beat go by before congratulating the overwhelmed Shaidorov.
“I watched him in the locker room and I’m just so proud of him,” Malinin said. “All of us are here to support each other, to be there for each other. And that’s what’s so special about the sport — I feel like we’re all a big figure skating family. And I think people forget that when they see us competing against each other.”
Behind Shaidorov, Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama claimed silver with 280.06 points, holding his ground with an imperfect but strong showing after entering the free skate in 2nd. The four-time world medalist leaned on his trademark skating skills and musicality to survive some errors in his free skate and remain on the podium, once again proving his capability under Olympic pressure.
“I’m relieved that I have received the medal tonight, but I’m still feeling a little bit disappointed with my performance,” Kagiyama said via interpreter following the shocking conclusion of the event. “So, that’s probably why you saw me holding my head in my hands.”
Kagiyama added that there was a “tense atmosphere” felt by all the top athletes in the free skate.
Japan’s Shun Sato rounded out the medals with 274.90, climbing from 9th after the short program with a powerful free skate that earned him bronze and capped a season that marked him as a rising star.
“I really didn’t expect to win a medal and stand on the podium tonight,” Sato said also via interpreter, after an emotional medal ceremony. “So, right now, it almost feels like I don’t know whether it’s a dream or reality at this point.”
Just off the podium, South Korea’s Cha Jun Hwan finished 4th at 273.92 points, narrowly edging Canada’s Stephen Gogolev, who surged from 10th after the short program to 5th overall, after producing the 2nd-best free skate of the night.