Astana, 26 October. Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov will not be able to qualify for the Grand Prix Final after finishing tenth at the first event of the series in France, and the skater put the failure down to a psychological lapse.
"I definitely expected a different skate from myself, it is not what I was preparing for. I was in very good shape and everything went normally in practice," Shaidorov said. He said there had been no physical problems, "but something definitely went wrong psychologically". In Angers the Kazakh did not land a single clean jump in either the short programme or the free skate.
The six best skaters by combined points from two series events qualify for the Grand Prix Final in December; tenth place brings too few points to make that six. Before the event Shaidorov was considered the favourite: in September he was second in the International Skating Union world ranking with 4,193 points. The event in Angers was won by France's Adam Siao Him Fa, with Japan's Kao Miura second and South Korea's Seo Min-kyu third.
What it means: A poor first start to the season has immediately cost the Olympic champion one of the main autumn events. He himself sees the cause in his state of mind rather than his form.
Who benefits: Shaidorov's rivals for a place in the Grand Prix Final.
Background: Shaidorov won gold at the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan. The Grand Prix series is six International Skating Union events, with each skater competing in two.
