Yuma Kagiyama glides across the ice during his free skate routine at the Milan Cortina Olympics on February 13, 2026, in Milan, Italy. (©KYODO)
Although he struggled in the free skate, Yuma Kagiyama finished second in the men's figure skating competition at the Milan Cortina Olympics. That result wasn't surprising. After all, he's a three-time silver medalist at the world championships.
What was shocking, though, was Ilia Malinin's calamitous performance in the free skate on Friday night, February 13 in Milan, Italy.
The American superstar, known as the "Quad God," for his pioneering quadruple axels, fell twice on attempted quad jumps. He had to settle for eighth place out of the 24 participants who advanced to the free skate after Tuesday's short program.
Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov, the runner-up to Malinin at the 2025 ISU World Figure Skating Championships in Boston, captured the gold medal with a strong free skate (a personal-best score of 198.64 points). He was fifth in points after the short program, and finished with 291.58 points to win the competition. Japan's Shun Sato placed third (274.90).
"These are incredible emotions. I have been working towards this since my childhood," Shaidorov told reporters at Milano Ice Skating Arena. "Today I just wanted to enjoy the moment and do everything I have been working on for all those years. And today I did that."
He added, "I don't even know how to describe my feelings. I just did everything I [could] do and apparently life rewarded me."
The late Denis Ten was Kazakhstan's first Olympic figure skating medalist at the 2014 Sochi Games, taking home the silver.
Yuma Kagiyama Endures Disappointing Free Skate
Kagiyama, the Olympic runner-up at the 2022 Beijing Games, secured the silver medal with 280.06 points. He was second after the short program (103.07), then he slipped to sixth in the free skate (176.99). But on this night, his combined total was enough to claim the runner-up medal.
Kagiyama had a shaky start in the free skate, falling on his opening quad salchow. He also tripped on a quad flip. But he kept skating and had two successful triple axels among the later jumps in his routine.
"The fact that I was able to challenge myself, and that I was able to take on that challenge here on this stage, is a very big achievement and carries very big meaning for me," Kagiyama said, according to the ISU website.
"Although today was very frustrating, if I look at it from the bigger picture, on this Olympic stage there were a lot of experiences and important lessons," the 22-year-old added. "So overall, I think I can say I did my best."
Sato Pleased with Comeback Effort
For Sato, sitting in ninth place after the short program made the odds of earning a medal seem unlikely.
But he followed up his 88.70-point effort on Tuesday with the third-best free skate (186.20) while performing his rendition of Igor Stravinski's "The Firebird" to earn the bronze medal.
"I'm lost for words," Sato said, according to Kyodo News. "I never thought I'd be getting on the podium, so I'm surprised. I'm glad I gave it my all.
"I made mistakes in the short program, but I didn't let that drag me down," added the sixth-place finisher at the 2025 world championships. "[And] I struggled with parts of the free skate as well. But I was able to finish it, and I think I performed almost to the best of my ability."
South Korea's Jun Hwan Cha finished fourth (273.92). Kao Miura, Japan's other skater in the event, was 13th (246.88).
Malinin Crumbles Under Pressure
By winning the world titles in 2024 and '25 and every individual competition he'd entered for two-plus years before the Milan Cortina Olympics, Malinin was the overwhelming favorite.
A planned quadruple axel at the start of his routine was downgraded to a single axel, a tone-setting mistake that was followed by many more miscues.
Malinin was in first place after the short program (108.16). He was an uncharacteristic 15th in the free skate (156.33) after a mistake-filled on-ice performance.
The 21-year-old Olympic debutant was stunned by what happened.
"It's not a pleasant feeling, and I'm still trying to understand exactly what happened," Malinin told reporters. "But it's done. I can't change the outcome. My life has had a lot of ups and downs, and in that moment, everything just felt very overwhelming. I honestly didn't know how to handle it."
A Look Ahead
The pairs short program is on Sunday evening (3:45 AM JST on Monday). Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, two-time world champions, are among the entrants.
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Author: Ed Odeven
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