Figure skating’s self-styled ‘Quad God’ fell to earth on Friday as Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov came from nowhere to claim gold in a dramatic finish to the men’s singles competition in Milan.
All-conquering Ilia Malinin headed into the free skate with a five-point lead over his rivals and audacious plans to make history by becoming the first skater to land seven quad jumps.
Instead Malinin, unbeaten in all competitions for over two years, fulfilled just three – falling on two more – as he plummeted out of medal contention to finish in eighth place.
“I blew it,” the emotional American told NBC.
As the 21-year-old Malinin left the ice in tears, Shaidorov, who started the night in fifth place, over 15 points behind his rival and a 100-1 shot to make up the difference, looked shell-shocked to become Olympic champion.
Earlier, Malinin’s rivals had done all they could to aid his coronation. Starting the free skate in third place, Adam Siao Him Fa fell twice to also slide down the standings, while Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama clung onto silver place despite two falls.
Malinin took to the ice with the gold at his mercy, but his routine quickly unravelled.
His quad axel – a jump only he has mastered – became a single, his quad loop a double and he fell on both his lutz and salchow.
It was a shocking end to the Olympic cycle for Malinin, who had failed to make the 2022 Olympic team when compatriot Nathan Chen made history by landing five quads in his winning routine to Elton John’s ‘Rocket Man’.
These days, five quads were supposedly the preserve of an also-ran. They were landed by Shaidorov, who then sat and watched his rivals falter in front of him. Shun Sato leaped from ninth place to take bronze medal on a night to remember.
