Mikhail Stanislavovich Shaidorov (Kazakh: Михаил Станиславович Шайдоров; born 25 June 2004), nicknamed Misha, is a Kazakhstani figure skater. He is the 2026 Olympic Champion, 2025 World silver medalist, 2025 Four Continents champion, 2025 Asian Winter Games bronze medalist, a four-time Grand Prix medalist, a three-time Challenger Series medalist, and a five-time Kazakhstani national champion (2019–23). At the junior level, he is the 2022 World Junior silver medalist.
Shaidorov is the first skater from Kazakhstan to ever medal at a World Junior Championships as well as the first skater from Kazakhstan to qualify for a Grand Prix Final on the senior level. Additionally, Shaidorov is the first skater in history to land a triple Axel-quadruple toe loop jump combination and a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow jump combination in an ISU competition.
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Shaidorov made history as the first figure skater from Kazakhstan to win an Olympic gold medal and became the second Kazakhstani athlete to win gold at a Winter Olympics following Vladimir Smirnov.
Personal life Shaidorov was born on June 25, 2004, in Almaty, Kazakhstan. His father, Stanislav, is a former competitive figure skater and a three-time Kazakhstani national champion. Prior to becoming a figure skater, Shaidorov trained in artistic gymnastics as a young child. While his mother tongue is Russian, he can also speak some Kazakh and English.
Shaidorov has publicly condemned Russian media outlets for often labelling him as a Russian athlete, saying, "It's disrespectful to me... I was born, lived, and still live in Almaty, and I spend a lot of time in Kazakhstan, in my beloved city. I'm very happy to have the opportunity to train under Alexey Evgenievich Urmanov, with whom I've been working together for a long time. But I started skating at the Ramstore shopping center, where many figure skaters got their start, including Denis Ten. It had one of the very first rinks in Kazakhstan."
In 2024, Shaidorov received a secondary vocational education diploma, specializing in physical education, at the Sochi Institute of Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. He is currently a student at the Kazakh Academy of Sports & Tourism.
Following his win at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Kazakh singer Dimash Qudaibergen announced that he would gift Shaidorov with a car as thanks for using one of Qudaibergen's songs as his free skate music during the Games. A couple weeks following that announcement, Qudaibergen personally delivered Shaidorov a Hyundai Palisade with the inscriptions, "Mishabai, congratulations on your victory" and "Pride of Kazakhstan." Kazakh businessman Arsen Tomsky also gifted Shaidorov's father with an Audi Q8 after having learned that Stanislav had once sold his car to help fund Shaidorov's career as a competitive figure skater. Moreover, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan bought Shaidorov a three-bedroom apartment in Astana.
Career Early career In 2010, at the age of six, Shaidorov began learning how to skate after being constantly brought to the outdoor rink in the parking lot of a Ramstore shopping centre by his father, Stanislav, who worked as a figure skating coach. Shaidorov initially did not enjoy the sport, instead choosing to pursue artistic gymnastics. However, Shaidorov's interest in figure skating returned after a year and a half, at age seven.
After watching the 2015–16 figure skating season on TV and seeing Yuzuru Hanyu compete and break world record scores, Shaidorov developed a competitive drive for the sport. Around this time, Shaidorov attended master classes from Kazakh 2014 Olympic bronze medalist Denis Ten. Ten's contribution to the development of figure skating in Kazakhstan served as an additional motivating factor for Shaidorov.
In early 2017, Shaidorov and his dad attended a training camp hosted by former Russian Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov. During the training camp, Shaidorov landed his first double Axel and successfully landed his first triple jumps less than a year later. Due to the lack of skating rinks for elite-level skaters in Kazakhstan at the time, Shaidorov's parents made the decision to relocate to Russia so that their then fourteen-year old son would have access to better training facilities. Shaidorov initially trained in Moscow before eventually settling in Sochi in 2018 to train under Alexei Urmanov full-time.
2019–20 season: First national title Shaidorov won his first national title at the 2020 Kazakhstani Championships. He was then selected to compete at the 2020 World Junior Championships, finishing in twenty-second place.
2020–21 season: Back injury and World Championship debut The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly curtailed both training and competitive opportunities for Shaidorov and other skaters, and he dedicated himself to improvement via off-ice training for long periods. He began his season by winning his second consecutive national title at the 2021 Kazakhstani Championships. He went on to win the bronze medal at the 2021 Sofia Trophy.
Despite being selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Shaidorov injured his back shortly before the event, which impacted his performance. He placed thirty-second in the short program and failed to advance to the free program segment.
In 2025, Shaidorov's father revealed that due to his son's back injury keeping him from training at full capacity, the Kazakhstan Skaters' Union ceased his funding and expelled him from the Kazakh National Figure Skating team. Despite Shaidorov's lack of salary from his skating federation, his coach, Alexei Urmanov, decided to continue coaching him for free due to Shaidorov's talent as a figure skater.
2021–22 season: World Junior silver medal Due to Shaidorov's ongoing back injury, the Kazakhstan Skaters' Union decided to not send him to compete at the 2021 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, the final Olympic qualifying event for the 2022 Winter Olympics.
With the resumption of international junior competition, Shaidorov was given one assignment on the Junior Grand Prix, winning the silver medal at the 2021 JGP Poland. This was the first JGP medal for a Kazakhstani men's singles skater since Denis Ten in 2008. He went on to make his Challenger series debut, placing ninth at the 2021 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge.
At the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Shaidorov finished fifth. He set a new personal best score of 234.67, a nearly thirty-point improvement over his previous personal best. Reflecting on his limited competitive opportunities in recent years, he said that "since it happens so seldom, sometimes things don't go as it should. The competitions [sic] this season went well."
Although initially selected to compete at the 2022 World Championships in Montpellier, France, Shaidorov was forced to withdraw after being denied a visa by the French Embassy. However, he was able to attend the 2022 World Junior Championships in Tallinn. Shaidorov placed eighth in the short program but second in the free skate, ultimately winning the silver medal and becoming the first Kazakhstani skater to win a medal at the World Junior Championships.
2022–23 season Shaidorov began his season at the 2022 CS Finlandia Trophy, finishing eighth. Although he was selected to compete on the Grand Prix series at the 2022 Grand Prix de France and the 2022 Grand Prix of Espoo, Shaidorov withdrew from both events after becoming ill with the Epstein–Barr virus and requiring hospitalization.
Despite illness, he went on to compete at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and finished fourth. Selected to compete at the 2023 Winter University Games, Shaidorov finished fourth after placing sixth in the short program and third in the free skate.
At the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Shaidorov only arrived the day of the short program due to issues obtaining a visa to compete at the event. He also developed a bad case of acute otitis media. Shaidorov placed twelfth in the short program and fifth in the free skate, scoring a personal best free skate and combined total score. He ultimately finished fifth overall. Shaidorov said he was "thrilled" with his free skate performance.
Competing at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Shaidorov finished fourteenth after placing eighteenth in the short program and twelfth in the free skate.
2023–24 season: First senior Grand Prix medal
After a groin injury forced Shaidorov to withdraw from the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, Shaidorov made his Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate Canada International, where he finished fifth. He set new personal bests in the short program and total score. At Shaidorov's second assignment, the 2023 Cup of China, he was third both in the short and free portion of the men's competition and finished with the bronze medal. He again set new personal bests, and said he was "pleased" with his first senior Grand Prix medal. Shaidorov won the silver medal at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning his first ISU Challenger Series medal.
Shaidorov placed sixth at the 2024 Four Continents Championships in Shanghai, China. He deemed his performances "somewhat acceptable", admitting he was "seldom satisfied with [his] performances." He later won gold at the 2024 Challenge Cup at the end of February. Shaidorov concluded the season at the 2024 World Championships, where he came fourteenth.
2024–25 season: History-making jump combinations, World silver medal, Four Continents title, and Grand Prix Final Shaidorov began the season by winning the 2024 CS Denis Ten Memorial Challenge. Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Shaidorov finished fourth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. At the event, he became the first skater in history to land a triple Axel-quadruple toe jump combination. "I am so happy I have landed the triple Axel-quad toe combo!" said Shaidorov following the event. "It is an amazing feeling to have made this history."
Three weeks later, Shaidorov competed at the 2024 Cup of China, where he placed second in the short program. He won the free skate with a new personal best score and remained in the silver medal position overall. Following the event, he expressed elation with the result, saying, "It's mind-blowing. I did everything cleanly, yeah, there was a mistake on the choreo sequence, I got a deduction for that. I think it's not a big deal because the ice was already not so good by that time. I'll keep improving and gaining more speed for that element in the future." Due to Shaidorov's Grand Prix series results, he was named as the first alternate for the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final. Shaidorov was ultimately called up to compete following the withdrawal of Adam Siao Him Fa. This marked the first time in history that a skater from Kazakhstan qualified for a Grand Prix Final on the senior level. At the Final, Shaidorov placed third in the short program following a clean skate. In the free skate, he attempted and successfully landed a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow jump combination, becoming the first skater ever to do so. Despite this, he placed sixth in that segment, and dropped to fifth place overall. "I feel good, but I'm very tired and I want to take a rest for the next second half of the season," he said after the free skate. "My jumps were not good. I don't have the components and don't know why."