The champion of the Winter Olympics in Milan returned to his homeland, where he was greeted as a national hero. The first words of the Olympic champion were addressed to the fans who shared in his joy of victory.
“I have no words, only immense gratitude for your support. This inspires me to continue to develop and glorify our country. Thank you all,” said the athlete.
The road to victory was long and difficult. In an interview a year ago, his father and first coach, Stanislav Shaidorov, spoke about how after an injury in 2021, Mikhail had to recover at his own expense. He also noted that the federation deprived his son of a salary and excluded him from the national team.
“In the Olympic season, we did not receive funding for training. Although I know that figure skating received funds from the National Olympic Committee. If I were a businessman, I might have stayed silent. But supporting a skater of Mikhail's level requires significant expenses — training camps, training, competitions, skates, costumes. It is wrong when an athlete, especially one with an injury, is simply left without support,” shared Stanislav Shaidorov in an interview with "Karavan".
After winning the Olympic gold, many recalled similar incidents in Mikhail's career. To justify itself, the Ministry of Sports issued a statement that in 2025, more than half a million dollars were spent on the skater's training, and published salary data for Shaidorov, according to which he earned about 65 thousand dollars in a year.
The athlete expressed surprise at the publication of this data.
“I believe that this is disrespectful to me as an athlete and a person. I do not understand why such a step was necessary. I was just doing my job — training and performing. Now it looks like the ministry has presented me with a bill for the medal? It shouldn’t be like that,” commented Mikhail in an interview with Tengrinews.
Accusations against officials intensified as they were found to be involved in the dissemination of confidential information about the skater, as well as concealing their own expenses, including costs for the trip to Milan.
When journalists greeted Shaidorov at the airport and asked the minister about the delegation's budget for the Olympics, he requested a written inquiry.
“Let’s do this, we will respond to you in writing about how much was spent on transportation, accommodation, and meals. At the moment, I cannot disclose this to you,” replied Yerbol Myrzabosynov.
The minister added that the trips of officials were justified by specific work tasks.
In the Kazakhstani internet, the ministry's communication strategy is being criticized.
“It creates the impression that the athletes whom the ministry sends to competitions do not belong to themselves. We decide what to publish and what not to. No one asks the athletes. Someone clearly rushed,” wrote lawyer Yerzhan Yesimkhanov on Facebook. — “This is another reputational failure. Creating a good image turned out to be more important than the interests of the athlete and the sport. Fortunately, Mikhail Shaidorov is an adequate person and does not attach much importance to this.”
“Minister of Sports Myrzabosynov did not clearly answer journalists' questions about why it was necessary to disclose the budgetary expenses for Mikhail Shaidorov's training in 2025,” believes journalist Nikolai Enelane. — “Now everyone is calculating the minister's per diems. This is a failure!”
No one knows about the thorny path of Kazakhstani athletes better than their families. Behind every champion are devoted parents.
“Parents don’t sleep, drive to training at six in the morning, spend money on camps and tournaments. The state usually gets involved when it realizes that a medal is close. And then it appears: ‘Well, okay, we’ll give some money,’” noted journalist Tamara Vaal, head of the capital bureau of the magazine "Vlast" and mother of a girl who practices rhythmic gymnastics.
Now Mikhail Shaidorov, who brought Kazakhstan its first Olympic gold in figure skating, is being showered with gifts — apartments, cars. But the question remains open as to whether, after his success, professional rinks will be built in the country to prepare new champions, so that victories on the ice become a regular occurrence.
The development of mass sports, especially winter sports, in the country leaves much to be desired. Mikhail began his training on a small rink in a shopping center in Almaty, just like Denis Ten, another star of Kazakhstani figure skating, who won bronze at the Sochi Olympics in 2014. His life was tragically cut short four years later when he was killed while trying to stop thieves who were attempting to steal mirrors from his car. He was only 25 years old.
After the Olympic victory, Shaidorov noted that Denis Ten influenced not only him but also figure skating in Kazakhstan as a whole. “He opened doors for many skaters, and that is incredibly important,” emphasized the champion.
At the initial stage of Ten's career, his training expenses were also covered by his parents. Figure skating is considered one of the most expensive sports, requiring significant investments in equipment, ice rental, coaching services, program choreography, and participation in competitions.
