The men's singles figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics was held on 10 and 13 February at the Forum di Milano in Milan, Italy. Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won the gold medal, Yuma Kagiyama of Japan won the silver medal, and Shun Sato, also of Japan, won the bronze medal. Shaidorov became the first skater from Kazakhstan to win a gold medal in figure skating, while Kagiyama won his second silver medal in single skating, having also finished second at the 2022 Winter Olympics. == Background == Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the International Olympic Committee suspended the Olympic Committees of Russia and Belarus. The skating federations of Russia and Belarus were each permitted to nominate one skater or team from each discipline to compete at the Skate to Milano as a means to qualify for the 2026 Winter Olympics as Individual Neutral Athletes (AINs). Each nominee was required to pass a special screening process to assess whether they had displayed any support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine or any contractual links to the Russian or Belarusian military. Petr Gumennik of Russia earned a spot at the Olympics as an Individual Neutral Athlete. The men's figure skating competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics was held on 10 and 13 February at the Forum di Milano in Milan, Italy. Coming into the competition, Ilia Malinin of the United States was regarded as the favorite to win the men's event. A two-time World champion and four-time U.S. national champion, Malinin is the only skater to successfully perform a quadruple Axel in competition. At the 2025 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Malinin became the first skater to successfully perform seven quadruple jumps in a single program. "Ilia is an over-the-moon, once-in-a-generation skater, and the things he does, I never thought I would see in my lifetime," said Olympic gold medalist and figure skating commentator Tara Lipinski. Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton added, "We now have these athletic elements that are virtually impossible, that one unique human being has found a way to master, where no one else in the world was able to do it at that level. That should be rewarded in every possible way, with the medal, with the applause, and with the appreciation of this generational, or maybe even millennial, talent." == Qualification == Twenty-four quota spots in the men's event were awarded based on results at the 2025 World Figure Skating Championships. An additional five spots were awarded at the Skate to Milano. == Required performance elements == Skaters performed their short programs on 10 February. Lasting no more than 2 minutes 40 seconds, the short program had to include the following elements: one double or triple Axel; one triple or quadruple jump; one jump combination consisting of a double jump and a triple jump, two triple jumps, or a quadruple jump and a double jump or triple jump; one flying spin; one camel spin or sit spin with a change of foot; one spin combination with a change of foot; and a step sequence using the full ice surface. The top twenty-four highest scoring skaters after the short program advanced to the free skate, which was held on 13 February. The free skate could last no more than 4 minutes, and had to include the following: seven jump elements, of which one has to be an Axel-type jump; three spins, of which one had to be a spin combination, one had to be a flying spin, and one had to be a spin with only one position; a step sequence; and a choreographic sequence. == Judging == All of the technical elements in any figure skating performance – such as jumps and spins – were assigned a predetermined base point value and were then scored by a panel of nine judges on a scale from -5 to 5 based on their quality of execution. The judging panel's Grade of Execution (GOE) was determined by calculating the trimmed mean (that is, the average after deleting the highest and lowest scores), and this GOE was added to the base value to come up with the final score for each element. The panel's scores for all elements were added together to generate a total elements score. At the same time, judges evaluated each performance based on three program components – skating skills, presentation, and composition – and assigned a score from .25 to 10 in .25 point increments. The judging panel's final score for each program component was also determined by calculating the trimmed mean. Those scores were then multiplied by the factor shown on the following chart; the results were added together to generate a total program component score. Deductions of one point each were applied for certain violations like time infractions, stops and restarts, or falls. The total elements score and total program component score were added together, minus any deductions, to generate a final performance score for each skater. == Results == Code key === Short program === The short program was held on Tuesday, 10 February. Ilia Malinin of the United States finished in first place with a score of 108.16, successfully performing a quadruple flip and a quadruple Lutz-triple toe loop jump combination. Speaking of his nerves competing earlier in the team event, Malinin said, "I did not think it would be that heavy. I thought that I could come into this like any other competition, but honestly I definitely underestimated it." Upon completion of his required jump elements, Malinin delivered his signature "raspberry twist" and backflip. 2022 silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama of Japan finished in second place, not quite as good as he had been when he competed in the short program component of the team event. Adam Siao Him Fa of France finished in third place. Maxim Naumov of the United States delivered what Jordan Mendoza of USA Today described as "one of his best performances" in his Olympic debut, setting a new season-best score of 85.65. While awaiting his scores in the kiss-and-cry, Naumov held up a photograph of his late parents, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, who died in the crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in January 2025. Naumov described feeling his parents' presence with him on the ice: "Usually I'm a little jittery and kind of rushed a little bit," he said. "I felt none of that here. The calm, the stillness, the confidence. I tried to lean as much into that as I possibly could." === Free skating === In what The New York Times called "one of the biggest upsets in figure skating history", Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan won the gold medal in the men's event after Ilia Malinin of the United States suffered a series of errors that led to him finishing in eighth place. This was the first medal win for a Kazakh athlete at the 2026 Games, and the first gold medal for Kazakhstan at the Winter Olympics since 1994. Shaidorov had finished in fifth place after the short program, but rallied back in the free skate, scoring over ten points more than his nearest competitor and setting a new personal best with an overall score of 291.58. Shaidorov was the first skater to successfully perform a quadruple jump as the second element in a jump combination, a feat he accomplished at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. He opened his Olympic free skate with a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow, and what followed was nearly flawless. After Malinin received his scores and it was announced that Shaidorov had won the gold medal, Malinin hugged and congratulated him. "I watched him skate from the locker room and I’m just so proud of him," Malinin said afterward. "We’re all in this sport together, and we’re there for each other. That’s what makes this sport special. I think people forget that sometimes. They only see us competing and assume we’re rivals without good relationships. But it’s actually the opposite. There’s joy, motivation, encouragement; we’re like a big family." Shaidorov is only the second Kazakh skater to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Denis Ten – who was a source of inspiration for Shaidorov – won the bronze medal in 2014. "It would have probably meant a lot to Denis, because he paved the road for us," Shaidorov stated. Both Ten, who was murdered in 2018, and Shaidorov have advocated for growing the sport of figure skating in Kazakhstan. "It means a lot for me and for my country because I really want to see our sport to grow in Kazakhstan," he continued. "I will do everything to make that happen and I hope that little kids will sign up for this sport, that there will be conditions that encourage that, and that this medal will bring a lot of motivation to young athletes who will now know that there are no limits at all." Yuma Kagiyama of Japan, who won the silver medal at the 2022 Winter Olympics, won the silver medal here as well despite falling on his quadruple flip. "I’ve felt great since arriving for the Olympics," Kagiyama said. "I went into the free today with high hopes, but the nerves got to me, I have to admit. I threw in the quad flip and it’s a little frustrating with the mistake." Shun Sato, also of Japan, won the bronze medal. "Honestly, I can’t believe it," Sato said. "It still hasn’t sunk in at all, but I’m so glad I never gave up and put all the work in up to this point. After the short program, I didn’t think I had a chance, but I didn’t want to give in and held on to hope. And I’m so happy that led to a place on the podium in the end." For Ilia Malinin, a series of mistakes led to him finishing fifteenth in the free skate, and eighth overall. Malinin struggled to maintain his composure upon leaving the ice, shaking his head and on the verge of tears. He was unable to perform his signature quadruple Axel, his planned quadruple loop became a double loop, and he fell on both his quadruple Lutz and his planned quadruple Salchow, which became a double. His loss in Milan ended a streak of twelve consecutive wins stretching back to November 2023. "All of this pressure, all of the media, and just being the Olympic gold hopeful was too much to handle," Malinin stated afterward. Malinin's final score of 264.49, which was his worst score in nearly four years. "He never messes up," observed Daniel Grassl of Italy, "so obviously we’re all a little surprised by how it went." === Overall === == Music copyright controversies == Tomàs-Llorenç Guarino Sabaté of Spain was informed on 2 February that he would not be able to perform his standard short program set to music from Minions due to clearance issues with the copyright. Sabaté had performed this short program all season, including at the 2026 European Figure Skating Championships, where his routine became a fan favorite. However, on 6 February, Sabaté was informed that he was cleared to use the music at the Olympics after an agreement was struck with Universal Pictures and singer Pharrell Williams. "It has not been an easy process, but the support from everyone who has followed my case has been essential in keeping me motivates and optimistic throughout these days," Sabaté said afterward. "I am deeply moved by the love shown to a small skater from a small federation." Likewise, Petr Gumennik of Russia, who competed as an Individual Neutral Athlete, was informed after arriving in Milan that he would be unable to use the music from Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, which he had been using all season. Unable to secure the rights to his music from last season – selections from Dune – he had to settle for "Waltz 1805" by Edgar Hakobyan. == References == == Works cited == "Special Regulations & Technical Rules – Single & Pair Skating and Ice Dance 2024" (PDF). International Skating Union. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2025. Retrieved 15 August 2025.