Winter Olympics shock: ‘Quad God’ stunned as historic victor takes gold
The American phenomenon, unbeaten for more than two years, entered the final as the overwhelming favourite but produced a nightmare performance when it mattered most.
Malinin, 21, fell twice during his free skate and popped his attempt at a history-making quad axel.
Shaidorov seizes the moment
While his rival floundered, Shaidorov held his nerve to deliver a near-faultless routine in Milan.
The world silver medallist posted a total score of 291.58 to secure his nation’s first-ever figure skating Olympic title.
It was a display of cool composure from the Kazakh star on a night where many of the world’s elite failed to stay upright.
‘Quad God’ brought down to earth
Malinin had planned an ambitious seven quadruple jumps but landed only a single in a programme that stunned the crowd into silence.
The Virginia native looked distraught as his score was read out, burying his face in his hands after placing 15th on the night to drop out of medal contention entirely.
Despite his devastation, the former world champion recovered to congratulate the visibly amazed winner.
Japan secure double podium
Yuma Kagiyama took the silver medal with 280.06 points, surviving an error-strewn skate that had initially left the door wide open for the favourite.
His compatriot Shun Sato rounded off the top three, finishing six points further back to claim an emotional bronze.