Mikhail Shaidorov’s Olympic win highlights Central Asian pride

When Mikhail Shaidorov stood as a champion atop of the Olympic men’s figure skating podium, he made history. On Feb. 13 in Milan, Shaidorov became Kazakhstan’s first Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, also delivering his country’s first gold medal at the Winter Olympic Games since 1994.

The 21 year old’s victory is a source of pride for Kazakhs and Central Asians around the world.

“It was a huge reaction in my country,” he told the Washington Post. “I started to realize that the people in Kazakhstan were awake—they were watching me.” At the games, Kazakh fans posted videos on social media of the moments they held up their blue and yellow flag and cheered in the arena during his unexpected win. “We are so proud of him!!” one fan commented with Kazakhstan flag emojis. Another user said, “Can you imagine how famous our country has become all over the world?”

Kazakhstan is the largest country in Central Asia, with more than 100 ethnicities. The former Soviet Union nation is more than 70 percent Kazakh, along with significant populations of Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, and Uyghurs. Despite not conventionally thought of as part of the Asian diaspora, many diasporic Kazakhs as well as those from nations like Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan have posted on social media, considering Shaidorov’s victory as one of their own.

The look on Shaidorov’s face moments before he won was already pure shock: the favorite going into the men’s free skate final was Ilia Malinin from the United States, who had dominated the last few years in the Grand Prix and World Championships. Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama and Shun Sato were also heavily favored. But when the field of men all made mistakes in the high-pressure competition, Shaidorov skated clean and rose to the occasion.

Born in the Kazakh capital of Almaty, Shaidorov is the son of a figure skating coach. With a lack of good ice and skating equipment in his home country, he moved to Sochi, Russia to train before missing home and moving back with his Russian coach Alexei Urmanov alongside him.

His win cements a decades-long legacy started by compatriot and 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Denis Ten. Ten was Kazakhstan and Central Asia’s highest-placing male figure skater before tragically dying during a knife stabbing and theft incident in 2018. “I think Denis Ten influenced not only me but also figure skating in Kazakhstan as a whole. He opened the door for many skaters, including me,” Shaidorov said at the post-competition press conference. “I hope that this gold medal will open new doors for the younger generation, the children of Kazakhstan, who will know that there are no limits.”

The Kung Fu Panda-loving skater later celebrated his win with his traditional exhibition skate, doing triples easily in his fluffy panda costume. He later met Jackie Chan. Shaidorov also received a three-bedroom apartment in Astana, Kazakhstan.

Although he’ll end his skating season without a trip to the World Championships, which start Tuesday in Prague, (many top Olympians withdraw to enjoy new benefits that come with the games or to recover from injuries), his win has sparked a new era of Central Asian representation in figure skating.