A 21-year-old figure skater with braces who trained at a shopping mall rink just won Olympic gold after Ilia Malinin, America’s “Quad God,” collapsed spectacularly in Milan. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan claimed his country’s second-ever Winter Olympic gold medal in the sport’s biggest upset since 2014.
Nobody saw this coming. Malinin—the only skater in history to land a quadruple axel in competition—was supposed to dominate. He’d beaten Shaidorov by 31.09 points at the World Championships just months earlier. But when Malinin fell twice during his routine Friday, the door opened for the awkward, shy skater from Almaty.
Shaidorov grew up practicing at a rink inside a local shopping mall because Kazakhstan lacked proper training facilities. His father, Stanislav Shaidorov, a six-time Kazakh national champion, pushed him to train abroad in Sochi, Russia under 1994 Olympic gold medalist Alexei Urmanov.
Fast Facts:
- Mikhail Shaidorov: Age 21, still wears braces, from Almaty, Kazakhstan
- Kazakhstan’s Winter Olympic golds: Only 2 total in history
- Point margin at 2025 Worlds: Malinin beat Shaidorov by 31.09 points
- Training location: Shopping mall rink in Almaty, then Sochi, Russia
- Kazakh team resources: No dedicated medical professional for national figure skating team
“I don’t have the same resources as elites from Japan, the U.S., South Korea, and others,” Shaidorov said in a 2025 interview. “This sport is heavily influenced by politics, and if you’re not associated with a strong federation, you receive different treatment compared to athletes from leading countries.”
Even NBC commentators dismissed his medal chances mid-performance. “He’s just planting seeds for his next Olympic campaign,” Tara Lipinski remarked as Shaidorov skated. Then he kept landing jumps, accumulating technical points, and suddenly the tone shifted.
When his score flashed first place, Shaidorov—clutching a stuffed panda—leaped up, then immediately sank back and began weeping. Thirty minutes later, after Malinin’s disastrous routine confirmed the upset, the Kazakh skater covered his face with his hands as he embraced his American competitor.
Why It Matters
This victory exposes the resource chasm in Olympic sports. The Kazakh figure skating team doesn’t even have its own medical professional. Shaidorov traveled constantly for visas and ice time, while American athletes enjoy unmatched coaching, healthcare, and infrastructure.
His win also honors Denis Ten—Kazakhstan’s only other figure skating Olympic medalist, who won bronze in 2014 and was tragically murdered by car thieves four years later. Ten once trained Shaidorov’s father and dreamed of Kazakhstan continuing to compete at the highest level.
“At the start of 2025, I wanted a Kung Fu Panda costume,” Shaidorov shared last year. “I aimed to draw parallels because, like that character, I can be clumsy. The message is that even if you’re clumsy, you can become a Dragon Warrior. Nothing is impossible.”
After Friday’s astonishing victory, who could argue against that?
Evan Cole Editor-in-Chief | Breaking News & Public Policy
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