Ilia Malinin had won team event gold with USA earlier at Milan-Cortina 2026
Ilia Malinin, the red-hot favourite for men's figure skating gold at Milan-Cortina 2026, suffered a nightmare as he fell twice and missed out on the medals entirely.
In a remarkable men's free skate, many of the major medal contenders struggled with their routines. Of the final six athletes, five suffered falls.
The only man to skate clean, Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan, was left stunned as he won gold – his country's first Winter Olympic medal in 32 years.
Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, regarded as Malinin's nearest rival for gold, fell on a quad flip and had to settle for silver. Bronze went to his compatriot Shun Sato.
