On Day 7 of the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, Canada's Stephen Gogolev showcased a remarkable performance in figure skating, while the men's curling team continued their winning streak. Gogolev, hailing from Toronto, finished fifth overall with a stellar free skate that featured three quad jumps, earning him 186.37 points in that segment, the second-best score of the night. His total score of 273.78 narrowly kept him off the podium, missing out by just over a point as the competition dynamics shifted.
In a surprising turn of events, American figure skater Ilia Malinin faced an unexpected downfall. Known as the "Quad God," Malinin fell twice and committed several notable errors during his performance. This unexpected series of mistakes dropped him off the podium and left the audience in stunned silence. This paved the way for Mikhail Shaidorov from Kazakhstan, a vibrant and skilled jumper, to seize the opportunity and secure the first gold medal for his country in these Winter Games.
Shaidorov achieved a career-best total of 291.58 points, while Japan's Yuma Kagiyama earned his second consecutive Olympic silver medal, finishing with 264.49 points, his worst total in nearly four years. This score also marked the end of a remarkable unbeaten streak for Malinin, spanning over two years and 14 competitions.
“Honestly, I still haven’t been able to process what just happened,” Malinin remarked. He conveyed that he felt solid leading up to the competition and believed he just needed to trust the process that had brought him success. "It's not like any other competition. It’s the Olympics," he added, emphasizing the intense pressure and nerves that he experienced, which ultimately overwhelmed him during the event.
In men's hockey, Team Canada, with the stellar performances of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, both scoring a goal and providing two assists, secured a convincing 5-1 victory against Switzerland. Their winning momentum extended to curling as Brad Jacobs led his team to victory, improving their record to 3-0 with an 8-6 win over Sweden.
On the women’s side, however, Rachel Homan faced a setback, suffering a narrow 9-8 defeat to American competitor Tabitha Peterson during the women's curling round-robin play.
Meanwhile, Canadian long-track speed skater Ted-Jan Bloemen marked the conclusion of his illustrious Olympic career. The 39-year-old athlete wrapped up his performance with a ninth-place finish in the men's 10,000-metre event, a bittersweet end to a career highlighted by a gold medal in the same event at the Pyeongchang 2018 Olympics, along with a silver in the men's 5,000-metre race.
