Three years in the making: Mikhail Shaidorov breaks down his historic triple Axel-quad toe jump combo

France's Adam Siao Him Fa, Japan's Shimada Koshiro, and USA's Andrew Torgashev are three very different skaters from three continents. But there is one thing they can all agree on. None of them would ever dare to attempt the feisty triple Axel-quad toe jump combination that Kazakhstan's Mikhail Shaidorov threw into his free skate in November, becoming the first figure skater in the world to land the element.

"I was really impressed," two-time European champion Siao Him Fa said of watching the historic milestone at the 2024 Grand Prix de France shortly after he skated his own program. "I would not (try), honestly. I tried in the past and it's not for me. Yet."

"Not for me as well, but I think it's very impressive,” bronze medallist Torgashev agreed. “Personally, I'm happy just to land the toe and Axel on their own!"

The tricky jump combo did not come easy for Shaidorov who has been obsessed with the idea since he saw Japan's Uno Shoma land it in training a few years back. Now retired, Uno never managed to repeat the feat in competition. In fact, no skater has ever landed a combination in which a quad comes as the second jump until Shaidorov did so in competition on 2 November in Angers, France.

"I decided two seasons ago that I want to jump this combination in a competition and I was sure that I would be able to do it," Shaidorov said. "I managed to do it in France and to make history."

Olympics.com spoke to Kazakhstan’s top figure skater about the training that went into landing the history-making combo, why scores were not his main motivation and the possibilities of adding a backflip into his repertoire in the future.

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From Uno to Shaidorov: The men who made the triple Axel-quad toe combo a reality

Three-time Olympic medallist Uno Shoma is one of the few figure skaters who have plucked up the courage to try the triple Axel-quad toe. The earliest video footage of the Japanese skater landing the highly complex combination in training goes back to 2017. He also attempted the element in competition at the 2019 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships but fell on the second jump.

While Uno did not make the history books with that element, he became an inspiration for the skater who ultimately did. Shaidorov first saw Uno's successful training attempts in 2021 and has since been absorbed by the idea of landing the combo himself.

"I remember when I saw it and it seemed very, very difficult to me. And it is very, very difficult. Not everyone would even dare to go for such a combination," Shaidorov said. "When I saw online that Shoma Uno managed to do it in training, I got motivated and decided that I would try to do it too."

While any two high-difficulty jumps done back-to-back are a test for a figure skater, what makes this particular combination so tricky is that the quad comes as the second jump.

"Usually you go into a quadruple toe loop at quite a high speed," Shaidorov explained. "It is very difficult to do it from a combination, as the second jump, because you need to control your position since the quadruple jump is very complex in terms of its biomechanics. You need to control all of your body to get that push and spin up. Spinning up is one thing, but then you also need to skate out of the jump and this is very, very difficult. This is why no one thought of doing it."

With Uno's attempts as proof that the feat can be done, Shaidorov headed to the ice rink on a single mission to land the triple-quad combo. His usual training cast to the side, the Kazakh skater would spend session after session only working on that one element.

"I remember these endless training sessions when I just did this combination practically the entire training," Shaidorov recalled. "I hammered and hammered away at it until I got it. This probably took me from 2021 to now. There were so many training sessions when I just kept hitting that one spot. Only the combo, only the combo. And now here I am."

Not for points or glory: "It didn’t matter how much I would get for it"

Almost three years after first trying the triple Axel-quad toe, Shaidorov landed the combination in front of packed stands during his free skate at the Grand Prix de France.

But there was no time to celebrate as the skater, who also stuck a quad Lutz to open the program, still had a intense line-up of elements to get through, including a quad flip, triple loop, triple Lutz, and another two combos.

The celebration came later.

Shaidorov pumped his fists vigorously after he finished the skate. The reaction from the judges was more muted. While the combination earned the five-time national champion a hefty 18.72 points and helped to bump him up to fourth place overall, the skater could also have earned this amount by landing the two high-difficulty jumps on their own.

The points were not what mattered most to Shaidorov, however.

"It was not so much about the scores," Shaidorov said. "It was important for me to do it, and that’s it. And it didn’t matter how much I would get for it or what would happen next."

Kung Fu Shaidorov and the secrets of compact packing

While toiling away at the rink, trying the same jump over and over again, is something Shaidorov is willing to do for the sake of progressing his skating, the athlete also knows how to have fun – and light up a crowd. One look at his exhibition number from the 2024-25 season is sufficient proof.

In it, the 20-year-old waddles out onto the ice wearing a heavily-padded panda costume. He then proceeds to show off martial arts moves, spin on his back, and even attempt a jump, which ultimately ends in a well-cushioned tumble.

"I got the idea over a year ago. I just really like pandas and Kung Fu Panda 4 came out and I decided to watch it. And then I thought, 'Why not make it my exhibition skate?'," Shaidorov said of his movie-themed program. "I had some thoughts about the costume, but I didn’t think that it could be so voluminous, that it would look so beautiful and cool."

The foam-filled costume, which takes up almost half of Shaidorov's suitcase even when folded and the air squeezed out of it, became an instant crowd favourite at the Grand Prix gala, as did Shaidorov’s acting chops. Even fellow skaters, USA’s Amber Glenn and Andrew Torgashev, jumped at the opportunity when Shaidorov invited them to join the performance – the duo came in towards the end to chase the panda across the ice.

"They immediately said, 'Yes, of course! Yes, of course, we will be a part of it'. I didn’t even have to persuade anyone," Shaidorov said. "It was quite fun and cool. I think they enjoyed it too."

Shaidorov's exhibition skate showed the humorous side of the athlete who was particularly in his element when the music switched from the 1974 disco classic "Kung Fu Fighting" to Britney Spears' breakthrough hit "...Baby One More Time".

Even though his jumps are creating the biggest buzz at the moment, for Shaidorov the artistic side is no less important. The skater has been working on his expression and while his components scores still tend to lag behind his technical scores, he has noticed a markable improvement in recent skates.

"At the beginning of this season I was already getting higher marks than last season and I think that I have room to grow, that I will improve, and with each competition, it will get better and better," Shaidorov said.

The ideal Shaidorov holds in his mind while working on the technical and artistic sides of the sport is his all-time figure skating hero Hanyu Yuzuru, who he admires for his skilful balance of complex technical elements coupled with moving choreography and emotions.

It is this balance that Shaidorov hopes he can master himself and will come to define the future of men's singles skating in general.

"Figure skating should combine both artistry and the technical parts," he said. "It seems to me that men's skating is moving in the right direction in terms of developing more artistry and combining it with the technical skills. This is probably the most important thing for an athlete, to combine two things, this balance."

And as for the technical side, would Shaidorov consider adding a backflip into one of his programs now that he has already landed the triple Axel-quad toe?

The element can be performed without points deductions for the first time since 1976 as of this season. USA’s Ilia Malinin and France’s Adam Siao Him Fa have already thrown it into their competition skates to the delight of figure skating spectators.

"I've wanted to learn the backflip for a long time, but unfortunately, it never worked out for me. I don't know who can teach me," Shaidorov said. "But I would really like to learn the backflip, not so that I can show it in a program, but just to be able to do this element, for myself. I'm very interested in this."