Updated February 13, 2026 at 6:43 PM PST
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MILAN — U.S. figure skating phenom Ilia Malinin, the heavy favorite for Olympic gold, finished far off the podium in 8th place on Friday, after a shocking series of stumbles and falls.
It was another 21-year-old, first-time Olympian who claimed that prize: Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan.
Malinin, 21, was seen as a lock since he hasn't lost a major competition since 2023. He held a comfortable five-point lead heading into the free skate, one that was only expected to grow with his signature stack of quadruple jumps.
But when he finally took the ice, the last skater of the night to do so, he fell twice and downgraded many of his planned moves. He was expected to be the first skater to land a quadruple axel on Olympic ice; instead he dropped midair to a single axel.
"The nerves just were so overwhelming, and especially going into that starting post, I just felt like all the traumatic moments of my life really just started flooding my head … and I just did not handle it," Malinin said minutes after leaving the ice.
Malinin ended the night with 264.49 points. Shaidorov's final score was 291.58.
The silver and bronze medals both went to members of the Japanese team, Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato.
Malinin already won a gold medal as part of last weekend's team event, where his free skate helped the U.S. beat Japan by a single point. But Friday was his last shot at an individual medal in these Games.
"All I know is it wasn't my best skate, and it was definitely something I wasn't expecting — and it's done, so I can't go back and change it, even though I would love to," Malinin told reporters. "But from here, it's just regrouping, figuring out what to do next and going from there.
A stunning end to one of the most anticipated Olympic events
Shaidorov was the world silver medalist and Four Continents champion in 2025. He entered the second day of the men's competition in fifth place, and popular with the crowds — but not necessarily a medal contender.
On Friday he skated a near-flawless program, landing five quadruple jumps. The entire arena — especially one corner packed with people waving blue-and-yellow Kazakh flags — erupted into cheers when it ended, and Shaidorov himself had to lie down on his back on the ice for a few seconds.
"When I collapsed on the ice after winning, I felt relief," he said later. "The nerves were gone. I did all I could."
Shaidorov's score bumped him into first place, making him visibly emotional as he took his seat right off the rink in what's called "the leader's chair." But with four of the world's top skaters yet to compete, few — including Shaidorov himself — would have expected him to stay there through the end of the night.
That's exactly what happened.
The skaters that followed — including France's Adam Siao Him Fa, Italy's Daniel Grassl and Kagiyama of Japan — all had fumbles and tumbles. When Malinin took the ice, Shaidorov was still sitting in first, just starting to process that he would win silver.
About five minutes later, that silver turned to gold. After Malinin's score was announced, Shaidorov put his hands over his mouth and cried. Malinin walked over to congratulate him, and the two shared a hug and a handshake.
"He is a very important athlete in the history of figure staking and so, of course, I was rooting for Ilia, but the ice is slippery," said Shaidorov. "I told him it was unbelievable to share the same ice with him."
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