Mikhail Shaidorov reveals what Ilia Malinin told him after winning Olympic gold
One of the most shocking moments of the first week of the Winter Olympics came Friday, as American figure skater Ilia Malinin — the heavy favorite entering the free skate final — struggled through his performance, falling twice and missing several technical elements, ultimately finishing eighth.
Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato took silver and bronze, while Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov claimed gold with a season-best score, earning his country’s first gold medal of the Games.
Despite Malinin’s disappointing outing, he made a point to congratulate Shaidorov after the final scores were announced. Shaidorov later revealed the three-word message Malinin shared during their post-performance embrace:
“You deserve it,” Malinin told Shaidorov.
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Malinin spoke about his embrace with Shaidorov after the completion:
“I actually went up to him and congratulated him. I watched him skate from the locker room, and I’m just so proud of him. I heard he didn’t have the best season. We’re all in this sport together, and we’re there for each other. That’s what makes this sport special.
“I think people forget that sometimes. They only see us competing and assume we’re rivals without good relationships. But it’s actually the opposite. There’s joy, motivation, encouragement — we’re like a big family.”
Shaidorov was also asked about watching Malinin’s performance and revealed that he had been rooting for him, expressing surprise as he saw mistakes from the American skater.
“I was watching Ilia and really supporting him,” Shaidorov said. “I was rooting for him, and then he started to make mistakes. I was really surprised because he rarely makes mistakes. I still tried to support him, and when the marks came, I didn’t really see them at first. When I finally saw the scores, I truly couldn’t believe it!”
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