US Men's Olympic Figure Skating 2026 Free Skate Scorers, Highlights, Reaction

Ilia Malinin failed to medal in the biggest surprise of the 2026 Winter Olympics to date.

The two-time reigning world champion had a disastrous free skate in which he fell and failed to deliver on a handful of technical aspects.

Malinin, who was the overwhelming favorite in the competition, didn't even finish on the podium and finished in eighth place.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov was the surprise gold medalist ahead of Japan's Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato.

Men's Singles Final Results

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 (USA) - 264.49

Ilia Malinin's mistake-riddled free skate was the biggest headline from the men's event.

Malinin hadn't lost in any competition in over two years and won the last two World Championships.

The entire routine was out of rhythm and Malinin failed to deliver on some of his planned jumps.

Malinin's shortcomings throughout his free skate dropped him all the way from first to eighth place.

He was still the highest-placed American, but that didn't mean much after he failed to live up to expectations.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov went from fifth in the short program to first in the free skate to claim a stunning gold medal.

Japan's medal duo of Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato also struggled at parts of their free skates, but they landed on the podium in second and third.

Andrew Torgashev took 12th for Team USA, while Maxim Naumov was 20th.