InfoHub Logo

Kazakh figure skater and Olympic champion Mikhail Shaidorov has revealed he has not been paid his salary since securing a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. The athlete shared his concerns in a recent podcast، expressing uncertainty about how to prepare for the upcoming season without financial support.

Dispute Over Salary Disclosure

Shaidorov believes the withholding of his salary is a consequence of his public objection to the Ministry of Tourism and Sport's decision to disclose his earnings after his Olympic victory. He described the situation as feeling like a form of punishment.

"It felt like they wanted to punish me for speaking out negatively about it،" Shaidorov stated. "Since then، I haven't had a salary. Now I need to prepare for the next season، but I don't know how. Meetings are planned، and days for program staging are set. We've asked several times about staging the program، wondering if they can pay for it. One person says one thing، another says something else. The situation is unclear to me. Moreover، as of February 1st، my doctor was removed، which is very strange."

Concerns Over Fair Treatment

The figure skater also questioned why his salary details were publicized for only one year of the Olympic cycle، while other athletes' earnings remained private. He emphasized his desire to focus solely on training and competing for his country.

"I just want to develop، I want to skate. It's important for me to remain a valuable asset to my country and raise our flag، as I have great potential،" he explained. "I don't like any intrigue or disputes؛ I just need to develop. I mentioned that I was uncomfortable with my salary being disclosed. Legally، it's not right. I don't really want to talk about it. It's unpleasant، and it seems like they want to punish me for what I said. Additionally، they are not paying the entire team's salary، nor are they awarding me the deserved Master of Sport title."

Support and Previous Statements

Following his historic gold medal win، Shaidorov had previously expressed his views on the public disclosure of his income to Tengrinews.kz. At the time، he felt the action was akin to being presented with a bill for his gold medal، stating it was disrespectful to him as both an athlete and an individual.

He had also mentioned in an earlier interview that conditions were not ideal for him a year prior to the Olympics. "Regarding finances، the public disclosure of a lot of confidential information about my salary was unpleasant for me. I think this is a lack of respect for me as an athlete and a person. I don't understand why this needs to be emphasized، as I did my job – I trained without days off، performed، and strived for results... And now it seems like the ministry is showing me an invoice for the gold medal؟ It shouldn't be like this. I don't want the focus to be on money. Everyone knows figure skating is an expensive sport. I didn't count how much money was paid. But all the funds received were spent solely on training. There should be no doubt about this،" he said.

After winning the Olympic gold، Shaidorov was awarded by the Head of State، Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. The President highlighted Mikhail's victory as a remarkable achievement in the history of domestic sports.

This information was reported by the Infohub.kz news agency.