From shopping mall ice rink to Olympic gold: the rise of Kazakh skater Mikhail Shaidorov

By Meruyert Zhakiya

Published on 15/07/2026 - 15:00 GMT+2

With skates laced up, Mikhail Shaidorov steps onto the ice at Almaty's Halyk Arena. Less than a year after becoming Kazakhstan's first Olympic figure skating champion, he is back to where success is built - training.

Before the start of the competitive season, his routine remains relentless: six days a week on the ice, with only Sundays reserved for rest. His signature curls move in sync with every jump, spin and glide, adding to the elegance that has made him one of figure skating's most recognisable athletes.

Yet becoming the 2026 Olympic champion is something he is still coming to terms with. The significance of winning Kazakhstan's first Olympic gold medal in the sport did not sink in immediately.

_"_Believing that you are an Olympic champion is very difficult," he says.

From a shopping mall rink to the Olympics

Shaidorov's journey began far from the world's biggest arenas. He first stepped onto the ice at a rink inside a shopping mall in Almaty. What started as a childhood hobby gradually turned into a serious pursuit as his talent became impossible to ignore.

Over the years, he climbed through the ranks of international figure skating, establishing himself as one of Kazakhstan's brightest sporting prospects. Like many young Kazakh skaters of his generation, he grew up inspired by Denis Ten, whose bronze medal at the 2014 Olympic Games put Kazakhstan on the figure skating map and showed that success at the highest level was possible.

More than a decade later, Shaidorov would go one step further, achieving what no Kazakh figure skater had accomplished before.

Olympic pressure

Looking back, Shaidorov remembers the immense pressure that built up in the months leading to the Games. Expectations were high, and the pressure intensified with every passing day. But something changed the moment he arrived at the Olympic Village.

"It felt as though a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I had already made it there, I was already competing among the world's best athletes. At that point, I simply wanted to enjoy the competition and savour the moment."

A calculated risk

The Olympic gold medal was built on more than talent alone. Three days before the competition, Shaidorov made a bold decision: to add a fifth quadruple jump - the quadruple flip - to his programme, increasing its technical difficulty. The element had been part of his plans since the beginning of the season, but he had struggled to execute it consistently enough for competition.

As rivals continued to push the sport's technical boundaries, Shaidorov knew that playing it safe would not be enough to reach the podium. With a medal at stake, he decided to take the risk.

"I knew I had to take risks if I wanted to win a medal. I had planned to include it from the beginning of the season, but until then, I just couldn't make it work,” he recalls.

Backed by growing confidence and years of experience on the international stage, Shaidorov trusted his ability to deliver when it mattered most. The gamble paid off. Known for pushing the technical limits of the sport, he also became the first skater to successfully land a quadruple jump combination featuring a quad as the second jump, a testament to the ambition and innovation that helped carry him to the biggest victory of his career.

The moment

What followed was one of the biggest upsets of the Games. Competing against a field led by favourites such as American star Ilya Malinin and Japanese skaters Kagiyama Yuma and Sato Shun, Shaidorov delivered the skate of his career.

When his score flashed onto the screen, he looked towards the standings in stunned silence. For a few moments, he seemed unable to comprehend that he had become an Olympic champion. The moment quickly spread across social media, becoming one of the defining images of the Games and a milestone in Kazakhstan's sporting history.

For Kazakhstan, the victory meant more than a gold medal. It marked the country's first Olympic title in figure skating and fulfilled a dream that had inspired generations of skaters since Denis Ten's historic bronze medal in Sochi in 2014.

What lies ahead

Olympic gold has not slowed Shaidorov down. Alongside his competitive career, he is working on a new project aimed at bringing figure skating closer to Kazakh audiences: an ice show featuring both local talent and internationally renowned skaters. The first edition is planned for his hometown of Almaty.

In many ways, the initiative echoes the vision of Denis Ten, Kazakhstan's first Olympic figure skating medallist, whose ice shows helped popularise the sport and inspire a new generation of athletes before his tragic death in 2018. Shaidorov hopes the project will encourage young skaters in the same way he was once inspired himself.

For now, however, competition remains his top priority. He continues to train with an eye on the upcoming season and is looking to work with new specialists and choreographers to further develop his programmes.

"I plan to compete in the Grand Prix series, and I want to introduce new elements and keep pushing boundaries. That's what matters most to me," he says.

For an athlete who has already achieved what many thought impossible, standing still is not an option.