Mikhail Shaidorov won Olympic gold in the men’s figure skating competition at Milano Cortina 2026. The skater from Kazakhstan finished with a total score of 291.58 points, ahead of Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato. One of the biggest surprises of the event was Ilia Malinin: the American led after the short program but dropped to eighth overall after a difficult free skate.
Gold: Mikhail Shaidorov (Kazakhstan) – 291.58 points
Silver: Yuma Kagiyama (Japan) – 280.06 points
Bronze: Shun Sato (Japan) – 274.90 points
Olympic figure skating 2026: men’s final results
| Rank | Skater | Nation | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikhail Shaidorov | Kazakhstan | 291.58 |
| 2 | Yuma Kagiyama | Japan | 280.06 |
| 3 | Shun Sato | Japan | 274.90 |
| 4 | Junhwan Cha | South Korea | 273.92 |
| 5 | Stephen Gogolev | Canada | 273.78 |
| 6 | Petr Gumennik | AIN | 271.21 |
| 7 | Adam Siao Him Fa | France | 269.27 |
| 8 | Ilia Malinin | United States | 264.49 |
| 9 | Daniel Grassl | Italy | 263.71 |
| 10 | Nika Egadze | Georgia | 260.27 |
Shaidorov wins gold with the best free skate
Shaidorov was not in the lead after the short program. He entered the free skate in fifth place with 92.94 points, while Ilia Malinin led the field with 108.16.
The final changed completely in the free skate. Shaidorov produced the highest free-skate score of the competition with 198.64 points, taking his overall total to 291.58 and securing the Olympic title.
Shun Sato also made a major move up the standings. The Japanese skater had been ninth after the short program, but the third-best free skate lifted him onto the podium and earned him bronze.
How Ilia Malinin fell from first to eighth
Malinin entered the final segment as the leader after scoring 108.16 points in the short program.
His free skate, however, changed the entire competition. The American scored 156.33 points and ranked only 15th in the free-skate segment. That dropped him to eighth place overall with 264.49 points.
The result underlined how decisive the second segment can be in Olympic figure skating: even a strong lead after the short program can disappear if major points are lost in the free skate.
Yuma Kagiyama takes silver
Yuma Kagiyama started the free skate from second place and remained in medal position throughout the final.
His free-skate score of 176.99 points gave him a combined total of 280.06 points, enough for the silver medal but not enough to match Shaidorov’s winning performance.
Japan ultimately placed two skaters on the podium, with Kagiyama taking silver and Shun Sato bronze.
Top 10 in the free skate
| Free skate rank | Skater | Nation | Free skate score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mikhail Shaidorov | Kazakhstan | 198.64 |
| 2 | Stephen Gogolev | Canada | 186.37 |
| 3 | Shun Sato | Japan | 186.20 |
| 4 | Petr Gumennik | AIN | 184.49 |
| 5 | Junhwan Cha | South Korea | 181.20 |
| 6 | Yuma Kagiyama | Japan | 176.99 |
| 7 | Nika Egadze | Georgia | 175.16 |
| 8 | Daniel Grassl | Italy | 170.25 |
| 9 | Andrew Torgashev | United States | 170.12 |
| 10 | Kao Miura | Japan | 170.11 |
Why the men’s final was one of the biggest surprises of Milano Cortina 2026
The men’s competition changed dramatically between the short program and the free skate. Shaidorov turned fifth place after the opening segment into Olympic gold with the strongest free skate of the event.
Japan left the competition with two medals, while Malinin’s fall from first after the short program to eighth overall became one of the defining storylines of the men’s event.
The final is therefore best remembered as a competition in which the free skate completely reshaped the expected medal order.
Sources
- International Skating Union (ISU): official men’s final standings, Milano Cortina 2026
- International Skating Union (ISU): men’s short program results
- International Skating Union (ISU): men’s free skate results
Last reviewed: October 5, 2026. This article documents the completed men’s figure skating competition at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
