Shaidorov was born on June 25, 2004 in Almaty, Kazakhstan.[5] He is a student at the Kazakh Academy of Sports & Tourism.[6]
Career
Early career
As a figure skating coach, Shaidorov's father, Stanislav, would constantly bring his son to the rink he worked at. Shaidorov would begin skating himself in 2010 at the age of six. Originally coached by his father, Shaidorov was not particularly passionate about this sport. This would only change when Shaidorov began watching figure skating during the 2015–16 figure skating season and became inspired by watching Yuzuru Hanyu compete and constantly break world record scores. Watching Denis Ten's contribution to the development of all figure skating in Kazakhstan would also serve as a motivating factor for Shaidorov to begin taking the sport seriously.[7][8]
In early 2017, Shaidorov and his dad partook in a training camp hosted by former Russian Olympic champion, Alexei Urmanov. It was at that camp where Shaidorov landed a double axel for the first time. This incident would push Shaidorov to learn how to jump triples and would achieve this feat in less than a year from then. Believing that in order for their son to further succeed in the sport that he would need to relocate to a new training environment for elite-level skaters. Due to the lack of these types of training rinks in Kazakhstan at the time, Shaidorov's parents made arrangements for him to move to Sochi, Russia and begin training under Alexei Urmanov in 2018.[7]
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic greatly curtailed both training and competitive opportunities for Shaidorov and other skaters, and he dedicated himself to improvement via off-ice training for long periods.[9] He began his season by winning his second consecutive national title at the 2021 Kazakhstani Championships. He went on to win the bronze medal at the 2021 Sofia Trophy.[5]
Despite being selected to compete at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden, Shaidorov would injure his back shortly before the event, which would ultimately impact his performance. He would place thirty-second in the short program and fail to advance to the free program segment.[5][10]
Along with his coach, Alexei Urmanov, Shaidorov would later make the difficult decision to not attempt qualifying for the 2022 Winter Olympics due to his injury preventing him from training to full capacity and prepare for Olympic qualifying events.[5][10]
At the 2022 Four Continents Championships in Tallinn, Estonia, Shaidorov finished fifth. Reflecting on his limited competitive opportunities in recent years, he said that "since it happens so seldom, sometimes things don't go as it should. The competitions this season went well."[12]
Despite illness, he went on to compete at the 2022 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb and finished fourth.[5] Selected to compete at the 2023 Winter University Games, Shaidorov finished fourth after placing sixth in the short program and third in the free skate.
At the 2023 Four Continents Championships in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Shaidorov only arrived the day of the short program due to issues obtaining a visa to compete at the event.[15] He would also develop a bad case of acute otitis media.[7] Shaidorov would place twelfth in the short program and fifth in the free skate, scoring a personal best free skate and combined total score. He ultimately finished fifth overall. Shaidorov said he was "thrilled" with his free skate performance.[14][16]
Competing at the 2023 World Championships in Saitama, Japan, Shaidorov finished fourteenth after placing eighteenth in the short program and twelfth in the free skate.[5]
A groin injury forced Shaidorov to withdraw from the 2023 CS Nepela Memorial, but he was able to make his Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Skate Canada International, where he finished fifth. He set new personal bests in the short program and total score.[17][7] At Shaidorov's second assignment, the 2023 Cup of China, he was third both in the short and free portion of the men's competition and finished with the bronze medal. He again set new personal bests, and said he was "pleased" with his first senior Grand Prix medal.[18] Shaidorov won the silver medal at the 2023 CS Golden Spin of Zagreb, winning his first ISU Challenger Series medal.[5]
Competing on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, Shaidorov finished fourth at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. At the event, he became the first skater in history to land a triple Axel-quadruple toe loop jump combination.[3][20] Three weeks later, Shaidorov competed at the 2024 Cup of China, where he placed second in the short program. He won the free skate with a new personal best score and remained in the silver medal position overall. Following the event, he expressed elation with the result, saying, "It’s mind-blowing. I did everything cleanly, yeah, there was a mistake on the choreo sequence, I got a deduction for that. I think it’s not a big deal because the ice was already not so good by that time. I’ll keep improving and gaining more speed for that element in the future."[21] Due to Shaidorov's Grand Prix series results, he was named as the first alternate for the 2024–25 Grand Prix Final.[22] Shaidorov was ultimately called up to compete following the withdrawal of Adam Siao Him Fa.[23] This marked the first time in history that a skater from Kazakhstan qualified for a Grand Prix Final on the senior level.[2] At the Final in Grenoble, France, Shaidorov placed third in the short program following a clean skate.[24] In the free skate, he attempted and successfully landed a triple Axel-Euler-quadruple Salchow, becoming the first skater ever to do so.[4] Despite this, he would place sixth in that segment, and drop to fifth place overall.[25]
