Mikhail Shaidorov clinches Four Continents title in breakthrough season
2025 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships: Men
Mikhail Shaidorov of Kazakhstan clinched the Men’s title at the Four Continents on Saturday, holding onto his lead to secure the victory. His win comes exactly 10 years after fellow Kazakh skater Denis Ten claimed the title in the same arena. Junhwan Cha of the Republic of Korea rose two spots to win the silver, while USA’s Jimmy Ma earned the bronze.
Mikhail Shaidorov
The 2024 Cup of China silver medalist led the men in the short program after a stellar performance to music from Dune. He landed a solid quad Lutz-triple toe, triple Axel and quad toe and produced two level-four spins, placing first with 94.73 points.
“I feel very good,” said Shaidorov, who pocketed a bronze at the Asian Games last week. “I was hardly nervous at all. It was quite tough because there was another competition not too long ago. This is practically the third one in a row. I didn’t even have time to rest after the Final before the Four Continents.”
“It’s been very exhausting, but overall, I’m very satisfied,” added the 20-year-old. “For Kazakhstan, the Asian Games are the most important competition, so there was a lot of pressure there. Here, it’s a bit more relaxed. At this point, I’m just tired and want to get through it.”
Shaidorov put out a flawless and dramatic free skate, placing first with a new personal best of 190.37 points. His performance featured a triple Axel-Euler-quad Salchow, quad Lutz, quad toe and a quad toe-triple toe. He also landed three solid triples while earning a level four on two spins. With a total score of 285.10, the 2024-25 Grand Prix finalist easily secured his win with over 20 points to spare.
“This season has been a breakthrough for me,” said Shaidorov. “I am very happy that I was able to show my jump combination as planned. This gold medal means a lot to me. Ten years ago, it was Denis Ten who won the first Four Continents gold medal for Kazakhstan here in Seoul. Now I was able to return this medal to our country. I am happy to have done it here in Seoul as this is one of my favorite cities.”
“At the beginning, they turned on the wrong music for me and that actually helped me,” he added of his free skate. “It was totally unexpected for me to be in first place after the short program and I felt a lot of pressure. Also, I hadn’t skated last in a long time. But the music issue took the pressure off, and I was able to let go and skate just with my emotions.”
Junhwan Cha
South Korea’s Junhwan Cha placed fourth in the short with 79.24 points with his short program to “Natural” by Imagine Dragons. The 2023 World silver medalist popped a quad Salchow but recovered to land a triple Lutz-triple toe and triple Axel. Two spins and the footwork were also graded a level four.
“I made a big mistake on the first jump,” Cha noted, “so I was a bit disappointed about that. I did my best to perform the rest of the elements, but I think it wasn’t enough.”
“I was really happy that I did skate the way I wanted at the Asian games,” added the 23-year-old. “Coming to this event, I was really focused again, because it’s in my hometown and I really want to do my best here. It’s a shame because I made a mistake today, but the fans and our home crowd were really amazing and gave a lot of energy to the skaters today. I’ll try to do my best on Saturday, too.”
The two-time Four Continents medalist gave a near-solid free skate to “Balada para un Loco,” placing second with a new season’s best of 185.78. His program featured a quad Salchow and seven clean triple jumps. The only mistake came when he popped a quad toe to a double. All spins and footwork were graded a level four, and he moved up to finish second place overall (265.02). He now has a medal of each color for this event.
“There were lot of things going on this season, but I was able to finish my free skating pretty well,” said Cha. “It was a bit tough to keep the form as the best, but I’ve tried my best as this is the second Four Continents held in Korea. I feel a little disappointed on the double toeloop (planned to be a quad) but overall, I’m satisfied with the result.”
The skater admitted to feeling tired after the Asian games and felt pressure coming into this event. His current goal is to improve on the mistakes he made. He also plans to join the IOC Athlete’s Commission.
“Based on what I’ve learned through Olympics and in my senior career, I’m trying my best to prepare for the upcoming interview,” he shared. “I’m also organizing some resources and researching furthermore by myself.”
Cha also wants a ticket to the Olympics.
“It’s not just about the individual athlete, more as a team,” he said. “Our team is trying the best we can do. For myself, I might change some of the content. Definitely not downgrading. I’m improving the overall quality of both programs and adding one more quadruple jump, prospectively. Adding one more quad is not clearly decided as I need to recover from the injury first.”
Jimmy Ma
Skating to “Mexican Phonk Eki” by Nueki and Tolchonov, the 2024 Cranberry Cup bronze medalist hung on to a quad toe before landing a solid triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe. He earned a level four on two spins and placed second in the short with a new season’s best of 82.52 points.
“I’m extremely happy today, even if there were a couple of minor mistakes that I wished I didn’t do,” said Ma. “In terms of performing, I am incredibly happy with it. This program takes a lot of emotional energy out of me, even though it suits me, so it’s hard. It’s something that’s supposed to reflect who I am and I’m very happy with how it turned out this season.”
Ma, a member of the Skating Club of Boston, earned a season’s best for his free skate to Clair de Lune. He landed a solid quad toe-triple toe and quad toe but then fell on a triple loop. The only glitches came when he put a hand down on the front end of a triple Axel-double Axel sequence and received a warning call on a triple flip. All three spins were graded a level four, and he finished third in the free skate and overall (162.49/245.01).
This was the first ISU Championships medal for the veteran skater who said he came into the event with no expectations.
“It’s fantastic!” he said. ” I’ve I kind of broke my curse of being in the top three in the short program and then fumbling in the free skate. This time, I had a couple mistakes, but overall, mistakes aside, I was happy that my performance came from the heart.”
Now that the event is over for the men, Ma’s immediate plan is to get Korean barbecue and soju. Then he plans to take a little time off.
“I’m getting old,” said the 29-year-old. “Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally. I need some time to myself. But this gives me a lot of confidence; it puts me in a good position next year. I can’t wait to bring you guys more from my heart.”
Kazuki Tomono
Japan’s Kazuki Tomono turned out the landing of a quad toe-triple toe before popping a quad Salchow to a double which received no value. He recovered to land a good triple Axel while displaying three level-four spins in his upbeat short program to music by Tshegue. The 2022 Four Continents silver medalist finished third (79.84) going into the free skate.
“I was a little bit nervous today, but the ice was good,” said Tomono. “On the Salchow, I felt like my body was too light and I didn’t do it properly. It was a different kind of feeling I had for the first time. Every Four Continents before I have gained something valuable for my performance in the future, so I think this competition it will be the same. I want to carry the positive momentum I had from today’s performance to the free program. The free program is something that I made some mistakes in throughout the seasons, so I want to skate it clean the day after tomorrow. I want to change my mindset and perform without any worries.”
Tomono earned a new season’s best (162.24) for his free skate to music by Jon Batiste. The four-time Grand Prix medalist opened with a quad toe-double toe but doubled his solo quad toe. He turned out a quad Salchow before doubling a loop. The skater was clean in the second half of his fun routine, landing four triple jumps including two triple Axels. All spins and footwork garnered a level four, and with a total score of 242.08, he slipped to fourth place overall.
“I wasn’t able to really control myself,” said the 26-year-old. “I was a little unfortunate about it, but I was able to do the Axel and other jumps. But I was happy to do the free program. I had a slump this season, so it was really tough for me to be here, but I’m happy that I was able to achieve it. So, I think this will become a valuable memory for me.”
“I never had a season like this,” Tomono added. “I learned a lot from experiences from this season. I’ll keep working hard for my next season. I’ll do my best to improve my performance overall.”
Tatsuya Tsuboi
Tatsuya Tsuboi of Japan placed sixth (78.07) in the short program after falling on a quad Salchow in his debut at this event. However, the triple Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe were solid, and the 2024-25 Japanese bronze medalist picked up a level four for all three spins.
“Today, I wasn’t able to perform as I had hoped,” the 21-year-old confessed. “During practice, things felt a bit uncertain, and I thought I could correct the issues with my Salchow during the warm-up. However, I struggled with the jump, couldn’t land it properly, and it felt loose in the air. However, I am glad I managed to perform the rest of the routine the way I had practiced. Despite the mistake, I’m happy with the score, especially since my spins and steps were strong. Looking ahead, I want to improve my performance and handle the pressure better. My focus is on building from where I am now and delivering stronger performances in the future.”
In his free skate to I Pagliacci, the 2022 World Junior bronze medalist put a turn in between his opening quad Salchow-triple toe and turned out the solo quad Salchow. However, he managed two triple Axels and three more clean triples. Two spins were graded a level four, and he placed fifth in this segment and overall (156.86/234.93).
“I was very nervous today,” Tsuboi admitted. “I was nervous in both programs, short and free. I was more nervous than usual, and I feel like my stamina didn’t last a long time up until this competition. I actually felt that I would do well today, but because I was chosen to compete in the Worlds, this was the first competition that I was aiming to get a good score on.”
“I think I need to improve myself to get better,” he summed up. “I feel a lot of nervousness and worries for the Worlds that I’m facing right now, but I’ll do my best to improve myself. I’ll keep working hard to get some good preparation for Worlds.”
Japan’s Kao Miura finished sixth overall (230.48) followed by Hyungyeom Kim of the Republic of Korea () and USA’s Camden Pulkinen (217.25).
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