“I feel an overwhelming sense of pride in this young man – or rather, this man – Mikhail Shaidorov, because he has done an incredible job.” Alexei Urmanov shared his thoughts on the Olympic victory of his student
1994 Olympic champion and coach Alexei Urmanov shared his thoughts on the victory of his student, Kazakh skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who claimed gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
original source: Sports / Sport Express
Alexei Urmanov praised his student, Mikhail Shaidorov, for his gold-medal performance at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, attributing his victory to hard work, mental preparation, and composure under pressure. Here’s a translation of his comments.
“Q: Your student is sitting at the center of the table as the Olympic champion. If someone had shown you this picture this morning, what would you have thought?
Alexei Urmanov: Misha said repeatedly today that the ice is slippery and that anything can happen. That’s exactly the mindset I prepared him for – and myself as well. Don’t focus on placement; focus on what you need to do.
You know, this young man – Misha Shaidorov – is a very talented skater. We’ve done tremendous work together, and this season, we prepared specifically for the Olympic Games. Leading up to the event, not everything went smoothly; things didn’t always work out. But that’s in the past – there’s no point in dwelling on the details or making excuses.
Q: You certainly have no reason to make excuses.
Alexei Urmanov: I just want to say that Misha has been incredible. He dreamed of performing his best here in Milan, at the Olympics. And he did everything he could to make that dream come true.
Q: Do you have a secret for preparing athletes? Misha went out and gave his best while the favorites faltered.
Alexei Urmanov: There’s no secret, I’m being honest with you. He’s been in outstanding form, almost perfect. Our training sessions in Almaty before leaving for Milan were quite nerve-wracking. He was so serious and focused that I began to worry a little.
But you know what? Maybe he left all his nerves behind back home. Once we arrived in Milan, settled into the Olympic Village, received our accreditations, and met again the next day, he was a completely different person – calm, collected, as cool as a cucumber. Completely grounded and ready to go.
Q: That’s surprising; it’s usually the opposite.
Alexei Urmanov: You’re right; it usually is. But sometimes you arrive somewhere, and it just feels right immediately. This was one of those times. We got to the Olympic Village, and there was this welcoming, positive atmosphere that made everything feel easier – it’s hard to describe in words. You just feel it instinctually.
Q: You couldn’t have predicted such a dramatic turn of events for Ilia Malinin, though.
Alexei Urmanov: I don’t know how to explain it. Only his coaching team and Ilia himself really understand what happened. We can only speculate – perhaps his nerves got the better of him, or maybe the immense pressure of being the heavy favorite weighed him down. People had already hung the gold medal around his neck, and the entire stadium was waiting for his triumph.
I’m just trying to piece together some thoughts here, but we might never know all the underlying issues,” Urmanov said in an interview with Sports.
“Q: Had you ever dreamed of something like this? Or did you come to the Olympics aiming for the top?
Alexei Urmanov: No, to say that we came here planning to win would not be accurate. What is more accurate is that we prepared very seriously for this competition throughout the entire season. From the very beginning, the Olympics were our top priority. That doesn’t mean we treated other competitions carelessly or without focus – far from it. But it was a challenging season.
We returned to an old short program and must have changed the layout of the free skate elements a dozen times. We were searching for the right formula so that, as Mikhail always says, he could skate both programs cleanly at every competition. And here, he almost managed to do just that.
I always urged him, even at the Olympics, not to think about placements. First and foremost, we focused on what had to be done. Let others worry about the rest.
Q: How do your emotions compare to what you felt when you won your own Olympic gold?
Alexei Urmanov: Well, it’s already late at night, and to be honest, I feel like I need to sleep on all this excitement and this victory to process it. Tomorrow, I think I’ll have a different perspective. But right now… it’s completely different. When I skated myself and when I’m coaching now, they’re entirely different experiences.
Right now, I feel an overwhelming sense of pride in this young man – or rather, this man – Mikhail Shaidorov, because he has done an incredible job.
I was just talking backstage with my colleagues, and I can truly say that I’m so proud to have an athlete like him. He’s someone I can trust, someone I can trust even with risks. For example, today’s quad flip in the free skate was still very raw; we hadn’t practiced it much, and I was quite worried. If it had been any other athlete, I would never have let them attempt it. But with Mikhail, I trusted him completely.
Q: When Mikhail got up from the leader’s chair after winning, you seemed to say something important to him. What was it?
Alexei Urmanov: I whispered something in his ear… You know, earlier this winter, he had this absolutely phenomenal training session – so good it was almost unbelievable. And I told him back then, ‘Only one thing – don’t you dare come back to me as an Olympic champion after skating like that just once in practice!’” (he gestures with his finger in mock sternness). “That’s what I told him then. There’s a time for everything. And today, after his performance, I reminded him. I said, ‘Do you remember what I told you?’” Urmanov said.
Related topics: Alexei Urmanov, Mikhail Shaidorov, Olympic Games
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