Kazakh figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov congratulated American Ilia Malinin on his fair play award and posted a joint photo, according to infohub.kz.
Shaidorov shared the post on Instagram. The photo shows Malinin approaching the Kazakh skater and hugging him after a disappointing performance at the Milan Olympics.
"Congratulations on receiving the Fair Play Award! So proud of you, my friend. I am incredibly grateful to be able to share this journey with you, and I will always cheer for you and celebrate every one of your successes," Shaidorov wrote.
At the Milan Olympics, Malinin was considered the top favorite in the men's figure skating competition, but after a poor skate he dropped from first place to eighth. Shaidorov won gold.
Despite his disappointment, the American immediately went to congratulate the winner. At the award ceremony, Malinin explained that he wanted to support his rival.
"I knew I had to move on, to remain a true friend and appreciate what my rival and friend had done. He won his first Olympics, and I was so happy to see him fulfill his dream and achieve his goals," the skater said.
Earlier, Kursiv LifeStyle wrote about how Sofia Samodelkina was amazed by the support of fans at the Denis Ten Memorial.