'Now everyone knows me too': Shaidorov on Ten’s legacy and how Kazakhstan surprised the world

Tengrinews.kz – In an exclusive interview with Tengrinews.kz, Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov spoke about Denis Ten’s contribution to the development of figure skating in Kazakhstan, as well as commented on the significance of his own victory and the reaction of the international community.
He noted that after his historic win, his name has become recognizable beyond Kazakhstan.

“Everyone knows Denis Ten. Now they know me as well, as the current leader of Kazakh figure skating.”

According to him, Kazakhstan’s result drew attention in the world of figure skating, where other countries have traditionally dominated.

“For the global community this is also a precedent, that a country which is not a leading power in this particular sport has managed to outrun the top nations, where the history of figure skating has literally been written for centuries.”

Shaidorov said that after his performance, athletes and coaches came up to him.

“Many skaters and coaches approached me and said that my story commands incredible respect.”

He also spoke separately about Denis Ten’s role in the development of figure skating in Kazakhstan.

“Of course, Denis Ten opened this path, and we owe him great thanks for that. My result has taken our figure skating to a new level.”

According to the athlete, such results are also important as a benchmark for young skaters.

“In any case, both Denis and I achieved not only an Olympic medal. By our own example we have shown young athletes that anything is possible. There are no limits. The main thing is to believe in yourself.”

Background: Mikhail Shaidorov won the gold medal in men’s singles figure skating at the Winter Olympic Games in Italy. After the short program, the Kazakh skater was in fifth place, but an almost flawless free skate allowed him to score 291.58 points and overtake all his rivals. Shaidorov’s gold was Kazakhstan’s only medal at these Games. In addition, in the entire history of the Winter Olympics, Shaidorov became only the second Kazakh athlete to win a gold medal. Previously, this had been achieved only by skier Vladimir Smirnov in 1994. After Shaidorov’s victory, the Ministry of Sports and Tourism, responding to public criticism, published the size of his salary and the amount of funds (263,394,581 tenge) spent on the figure skater’s preparation.