It was a natural human reaction to be absolutely stunned by the outcome of the men’s free skate final on Friday. The heavy favorite, Team USA’s Ilia Malinin, delivered a disastrous skate, missing several technical elements and falling twice.
Not only did he fail to medal — he finished eighth overall. Instead, Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Shaidorov captured gold in one of the most shocking developments in Winter Olympic history.
NBC faced some backlash for its coverage of the final moments, as much of the focus centered on Malinin’s defeat rather than the three medalists — especially Shaidorov.
On Saturday morning, former Olympic gold medalist and current NBC analyst Scott Hamilton issued an apology on social media for his role in the coverage, admitting he failed to congratulate Shaidorov amid the shock surrounding Malinin’s performance.
“Please forgive me that in all the shock experienced last night, I didn’t congratulate the 2026 Olympic Gold Medalist Mikhail Shaidorov!” Hamilton wrote. “On a rough night for his peers, he stood strong and victorious! Mikhail, you were the clear winner last night. Congratulations!”
“Thank you, Scott. I know it was shocking, but I was really disappointed that NBC didn’t give Misha his moment at all,” one fan wrote.
Another added, “Unforgivable, really. Your rant about feeling so bad for Ilia was just embarrassing. And your colleagues really failed viewers during his skate. Tara Lipinski needs to apologize to everyone for her outrageously bad commentary.”
A different fan offered support, writing, “Always the gracious gentleman, Scott! You are such a terrific ambassador for the sport!”
“You’re a class act, Scott, but this was a massive fail for you and NBC. Poor Mikhail was treated like the spoiler instead of a bona fide champion,” another commenter said.
Shaidorov delivered a season-best total score of 291.58, vaulting from fifth place into gold-medal position. He needed Malinin to falter — and that is exactly what happened.
Malinin scored 156.33 in the free skate. Had he simply matched his short program score from earlier in the week, he likely would have secured gold comfortably. Instead, he finished with a total score of 264.49, meaning his free skate came in at just over 108 points — well below expectations.
“Right before I got into my starting pose, all the negative thoughts just rushed into my head — all the negative, traumatic experiences,” Malinin said. “I’ve been through a lot, and it’s not easy. Being the Olympic gold hopeful is really just a lot to deal with, especially at my age.”
