The uncharacteristic mistakes from Ilia Malinin during the men’s individual figure skating finals opened the door for Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov to win the gold. Malinin was the heavy favorite to win the competition and entered Friday with a lead, but after falling multiple times during his free skate, he placed eighth in the event.
Shaidorov was crowned the champion with a total score of 291.58, earning the second ever gold medal for Kazakhstan at the Winter Olympics. But when the scores were initially announced, he couldn’t see them because he doesn’t have good eyesight.
"And then when the marks came, I actually didn't really see them, because I don't have good eyesight,” he said through a translator, via NBC Sports. “And when I finally saw the marks ... I was just overwhelmed.”
More: ‘Quad God’ Ilia Malinin Comes Down to Earth With Epic Olympic Collapse
As the pressure got to several athletes, most notably Malinin, Shaidorov noted that he mentally prepared for his program by “putting Legos together,” via Sara Germano. He didn’t come in expecting to beat Malinin though.
“I was watching Ilia, and I was really supporting him,” Shaidorov said. “I was rooting for him, and he started to make mistakes. I was really surprised, because he really rarely makes mistakes, and so I still tried to support him."
Likewise, Malinin extended respect for Shaidorov. After his own painful defeat, Malinin was among the first to go up to Shaidorov and congratulate him on his win.
“I watched him skate from the locker room and I’m just so proud of him,” Malinin said, via The Athletic. “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.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Olympic Figure Skating Champion Had Wholesome Reaction After Winning Gold Over Ilia Malinin.
