ASTANA — Kazakhstan finished the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy with one gold medal, marking the country’s second-best performance in its history at the Winter Games. The historic victory came in figure skating, while several other athletes achieved top-10 finishes.
Photo credit: National Olympic Committee
The only medal for Kazakhstan was won by Mikhail Shaidorov, who claimed gold in men’s figure skating. He became the first Kazakh athlete ever to win Olympic gold in this discipline. Previously, the country’s best result in Olympic figure skating had been a bronze medal by Denis Ten at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
This gold medal is also only the second Winter Olympic gold in Kazakhstan’s history since independence. The first was won by Vladimir Smirnov in cross-country skiing in 1994. In the overall medal standings at the 2026 Games, Kazakhstan placed 19th, with Norway leading the table, reported the National Olympic Committee’s press service on Feb. 22.
Top-10 finishes and national records
Although only one medal was secured, several Kazakh athletes delivered historic and personal-best performances.
Ilya Mizernykh achieved the best ski jumping result in the history of independent Kazakhstan, finishing eighth on the large hill.
In speed skating, Nadezhda Morozova placed sixth in the 3,000 meters – the country’s strongest Olympic speed skating result since 1998, when Lyudmila Prokasheva won bronze. Morozova also finished ninth in the 5,000 meters and eighth in the team pursuit.
Her teammate Elizaveta Golubeva recorded three top-10 finishes: seventh in the 1,500 meters, tenth in the 3,000 meters, and eighth in the team pursuit alongside Morozova and Arina Ilyaschenko.
Yevgeny Koshkin placed ninth in the 500 meters, while short track skater Denis Nikisha finished seventh in the 500 meters, setting a personal Olympic best.
In freestyle aerials, Kazakhstan’s mixed team of Assylkhan Assan, Roman Ivanov, and Ayana Zholdas finished seventh. Ivanov also placed 13th in the men’s individual event, marking a new team record.
In moguls, Anastasia Gorodko finished eighth in parallel moguls after reaching the quarterfinals, while Pavel Kolmakov secured ninth place in the men’s competition.
Meanwhile, Sofya Samodelkina delivered the best result in the history of Kazakhstan’s women’s figure skating at the Olympics, finishing tenth overall after the short and free programs.
In total, 36 Kazakh athletes competed across ten sports at the 2026 Winter Games.
Prize money and payment timeline
According to Kazakhstan’s legislation, Olympic prize money is awarded to athletes and their coaches for placements from first to sixth. As a result, only two athletes from the 2026 team will receive financial rewards: Shaidorov for his gold medal and Morozova for her sixth-place finish.
Morozova and her coach will each receive $5,000, while Olympic gold in Kazakhstan is rewarded with $250,000.
However, the exact payment date remains unknown. Under national law, the government may delay payments for up to one year to allow for doping checks and administrative procedures.
