Kazakhstan wins first Winter Olympic gold since 1994 (video)

Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov won the men’s singles title at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy on February 13.

After finishing fifth in the short program, Shaidorov skated in the final group alongside the strongest competitors.

During the program, the athlete successfully performed a series of complex elements.

Shaidorov scored 198.64 points in the free skate and 291.58 points overall, setting a personal best. He climbed to first place in the final standings and delivered Kazakhstan’s first Winter Olympic medal since 2018.

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama won silver with 280.06 points, while his compatriot Shun Sato secured bronze with 274.90 points.

American skater Ilia Malinin, who had led after the short program, made several major mistakes in the free skate and dropped to eighth place with 264.49 points.

The 21-year-old athlete became the second Winter Olympic champion in Kazakhstan’s history after cross-country skier Vladimir Smirnov, who won gold at the 1994 Lillehammer Games. Kazakhstan’s figure skating team had previously won bronze at the Sochi 2014 Olympics.