Sawt Falasteen - Shaidorov still spinning after outshining Malinin for Olympic gold

On Friday the overwhelming favourite for the men's gold, Ilia Malinin, faltered in the free skate, along with virtually all the top competitors, but Shaidorov held his nerve.

"I barely got any sleep. During the first day, I slept for only two hours, and I woke up and was very surprised," Shaidorv told AFP on Sunday.

"A lot has happened during this time. This is a celebration for all of Kazakhstan. And perhaps this was my main dream and goal in life -- to give my country such a celebration."

The 21-year-old's gold was only the second title for Kazakhstan at a Winter Games after Vladimir Smirnov won a cross-country skiing event in Lillehammer in 1994.

"Now I've realised that I've become an Olympic champion, it's probably even more than I could have dreamed of," he said.

Shaidorov said as a young child he was a reluctant skater, even though his father, Stanislav Shaidorov, was a former Kazakh national champion.

"Initially, my father put me on skates, I started skating, but I didn't like it, so I decided to do gymnastics," he explained.

"But then, for some reason, something clicked inside me and I decided I wanted to start skating again.

"And since that moment, I think I've never left the ice, I just skated, skated, it just gave me pleasure. I loved it a lot and that's probably the most important thing."

- 'Motivation' -

The competitive spark was lit watching Japanese superstar Yuzuru Hanyu perform eight years ago -- he won back-to-back Winter Olympic titles, in 2014 and 2018.

"I saw Yuzuru Hanyu and for me, that was an incredible source of motivation, and led me here," he said.

Despite winning silver at last year's world championships, an Olympic medal had felt a distant dream for the skater from Almaty.

"I didn't really think about medals -- I just wanted to skate well and do my best," he said. "But if things went well, I thought I might get bronze.

"But I couldn't even imagine winning gold."

Shaidorov had been satisfied after his fifth position in Tuesday's short programme.

"I felt great because I had done everything I could," he said.

"For me, fifth place was very good because I stayed in the strongest group and was skating second in that group. I just wanted to do my job and, whatever the result, that was that.

"I knew that with good results I could get on the podium but, for me, the bronze medal was the maximum. I wasn't thinking about the gold."

Shaidorov revealed that he assembles Lego to steady his nerves before taking to the ice.

"It calms me down a lot and helps me to relax a little," he said.

"The day before the free programme was very difficult because my head was already starting to spin."

But the skater, who is coached by 1994 Olympic men's champion Alexei Urmanov of Russia, kept his head as Malinin and the other top-placed skaters succumbed to nerves.

US two-time world champion Malinin, whom Shaidorov said "means a lot to figure skating", finished a lowly eighth after a shocking performance in the free skate.

"We have been sharing the ice for a very long time, starting with junior competitions," said Shaidorov.

"I think many figure skaters contribute to the development of figure skating, and Ilia and I will continue to develop it together."

Already well known in Kazakhastan, he expects his Olympic achievement will propel him to another level.

"Now I think I won't be able to go out on the street without someone recognising me," he said.

"It's an incredible feeling of pride. It's a medal for all of Kazakhstan."

U.Shaheen--SF-PST