The men’s figure skating final at the 2026 Winter Olympics was supposed to confirm a favorite. Instead, it turned out to be one of the most dramatic nights in the sport. The expected champion, Ilia Malinin, stumbled and finished eighth. The surprise winner, Mikhail Shaidorov, claimed gold, followed by Yuma Kagiyama, who earned silver. However, it sounds like the medal only added to his frustration.

“I don’t feel any sense of relief at all. I made mistakes, and I feel tremendous frustration about that,” Kagiyama admitted afterward. He finished second overall with 280.06 points. The numbers secured him a place on the podium. For Kagiyama, however, the silver medal was overshadowed by the flawed performance, which began to unravel in the opening seconds of his free skate.

The trouble came early. Kagiyama fell on his quad flip. And then, a few other errors in the first half cost him technical points. Yet what followed next revealed his mindset more than any clean skate could.

Instead of unraveling, he regrouped. He steadied his breathing, reset his focus, and attacked the second half of the program with control and fight. Later, Kagiyama reflected on the meaning behind the performance.

“However, I was able to achieve my quad flip and made an overall effort to challenge myself here, so that holds significant meaning for me. Today was really disappointing, but looking at the bigger picture, competing on the Olympic stage gave me immense experiences and valuable lessons,” he said. Even in frustration, he searched for growth. And that says something about where his mind already is.

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But at the same time, this silver medal matched his result from Beijing 2022 and confirmed his place among the very best in the world. Yet while Kagiyama wrestled with what could have been, another story was unfolding at the top of the standings.

How Ilia Malinin’s free skate changed the Olympic podium

Ilia Malinin arrived as the overwhelming favorite. After a beautiful short program, gold looked almost possible. But within a single free skate, certainty turned into shock. Falls, missed elements, and tension reshaped the podium picture.

Malinin opened the individual men’s short program and earned 108.16 points. This placed him more than five points ahead of the nearest competitor. He carried that momentum into the free skate on paper. Everything looked perfect. In the free skate, Malinin managed only 156.33 points, ranking 15th in that segment. His combined total of 264.49 points dropped him to 8th overall.

Ilia Malinin fell at least twice, including on attempted great difficulty jumps. The quad Axel was not successfully executed. Several planned elements were either downgraded or failed to earn full value. After the scores were posted, he did not hide his disappointment. “I blew it. That’s honestly the first thing that came to my mind… honestly, I have no words.”

The arena felt the shift. Many were stunned by how quickly the standings changed. Among those responding was Yuma Kagiyama, one of Ilia Malinin’s closest rivals.

“It was surprising and rare something unexpected for sure,” Kagiyama said. “But considering how tightly packed his schedule was skating in the team event’s short and free programs, as well as the individual event’s short and free programs it’s impressive that he persevered. He carried immeasurable pressure, with the entire world expecting him to take the gold medal. I can’t even begin to imagine what kind of tension he felt. I think he must feel deeply disappointed right now.”

In a night filled with chaos, Kagiyama’s words brought balance. The result hurt, but the respect among rivals remained intact.