🥇🇰🇿Mikhail Shaidorov: 'A victory for me and my country'｜Kazakhstan｜Figure Skating｜Olympics｜Malinin

His gold medal was a surprise to everyone, including him. Mikhail Shaidorov, a twenty-one-year-old skater from Kazakhstan is the men's Olympic figure skating champion. "I faced pressure throughout the season. I closed myself off completely, and it was really hard for me during all the competitions. But when I came here, for some reason, I suddenly felt relieved. Before the free skate, there were a lot of comments, wishes, and posts saying that going for five quadruple jumps was a huge risk. On the one hand, it put pressure on me, but on the other hand it motivated me. Because, yes, I was going for it, I was going to take the risk. As they say, nothing ventured, nothing gained”, told SNTV in an interview outside the Olympic Village. Shaidorov, fifth after the short program, closed the competition program with a career-best of 291.58 points, beating the super favorite, the American Ilia Malinin. "I was probably worried about him (Ilia Malinin). I didn't think I could become an Olympic champion. I was really worried about him, and I couldn't believe that even after such falls he would drop lower. I didn't believe it, but that's how it turned out", he said. Shaidorov watched the performances of the skaters who performed after him sitting at the leader's corner. "I couldn't see the scoreboard, I couldn't see the scores. Everyone else had TVs, but from where I was sitting, I couldn't see how many points each athlete had. That's why I was surprised every time I saw my country's flag with its blue colour above everyone else in the table", he revealed. With his victory, Shaidorov gives his country the first gold medal in figure skating. "When we'll become one of the strongest countries in the world of figure skating, like the United States, Japan, Korea, or Italy, that's when I'll say it's truly the main victory for me and for the entire country. But for now, this is the main victory for me and for my country, one that I hope will open new doors", he told.