Canada’s Stephen Gogolev in 10th after men’s short program at Milan Cortina Olympics

Stephen Gogolev of Canada competes during the men's figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

MILAN — Stephen Gogolev is a reserved, soft-spoken young man off the ice, rarely cracking a smile even when he’s “happy” with a performance.

On it, he transforms into a 1920s Prohibition-era gangster robbing a bank – and the judges are sold.

The Canadian figure skater sits 10th after Tuesday’s men’s short program at the Milan Cortina Olympic Games, scoring 87.41 points to “Mugzy’s Move” by Royal Crown Revue, a routine he has held down all season.

“It’s just the overall story and character that I play throughout the program,” said Gogolev, sporting a suit and tie, to explain why the program works so well for him. “It’s quite fun and actually gets me a bit relaxed, and I guess think about the overall performance compared to just focusing on the end.”

The lively crowd at Milano Ice Skating Arena roared when Gogolev nailed his opening quad toe loop-triple toe loop combination, moments after an opening sequence in which he mimics loading a gun.

His coach and choreographer, Benoît Richaud, came up with the program two years ago, quickly realizing that Gogolev needed a defined character to connect with the performance and express himself.

“I really tried to give him like a guideline, almost like a script of a movie, to really try to develop his expression, his musicality, and the way he connects to the music,” Richaud said.

Later in the program, an alarm sounds and Gogolev weaves across the ice as if he’s dodging police.

“In the end, it’s like he’s telling the police you’re never going to catch me,” Richaud said. “Catch me if you can, but you cannot.”

An over-rotation on his triple axel, forcing him to put a second foot down, was his only costly mistake. Even so, Gogolev cracked the top 10 despite not skating at his absolute best.

The 21-year-old from Toronto also avoided disaster when one of his boot laces came loose midway through the skate.

“I’m not sure when it came out, but I noticed it in the middle of my step sequence,” he said. “It wasn’t really distracting, but I was just hoping not to get caught with my left foot in it. I’m happy that I didn’t.”

Two-time reigning world champion Ilia Malinin of the United States — the self-proclaimed “Quad God” — put on a dominant display with 108.16 points in a clean skate to lead after the short program. Malinin is the only skater who has landed a quad axel in competition, but hasn’t yet attempted the jump on Olympic ice.

Japan’s Yuma Kagiyama, the 2022 Olympic silver medallist, finished second with 103.07, and Adam Siao Him Fa of France was third with 102.55. Italy’s Daniel Grassl thrilled his home crowd, scoring 93.46 to land in fourth.

The men’s free program takes place Friday to decide the medals.

Gogolev has enjoyed a coming-out party of sorts at the Games after dealing with injuries for years. In his Olympic debut last week, he sent Canada into the team event final with a personal-best 92.99 in the short program.

A child prodigy, Gogolev could land triple axels at 10 years old and became the youngest skater to land several quad jumps. Then a major growth spurt — Gogolev sprouted up from five to six feet — threw his coordination off balance, and subsequently led to persistent back problems.

In December of 2024, Gogolev shut another season down due to injury and wasn’t certain he’d ever be back. The University of Toronto student spent three months off the ice, starting with little more than walking, before transitioning to measured gym workouts and, eventually, skating sessions — deciding to give his once-promising skating career one last shot.

Finally healthy, he broke out this season with a gold medal on the Challenger series and captured his first Canadian title — seven years after winning a national silver medal at 14.

“It’s quite amazing,” Richaud said. “When I started to work with him he was almost starting to think he should quit skating.”

It was an emotional, energetic evening from the very first group.

American skater Maxim Naumov delivered a touching performance in honour of his late parents Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, who died in the American Airlines crash over the Potomac River on Jan. 29, 2025.

The words “Mom and Dad, this is for you,” projected on the big screen before his skate, and Naumov held up a picture of himself as a little boy on the ice with his parents in the kiss-and-cry. He sits 14th.

Two skaters later, Spain’s Tomas-Llorenc Guarino Sabate (25th) hit the ice in a yellow top and blue overalls for his lovable and mischievous “Minions” routine. The fan-favourite program almost didn’t have an Olympic moment because of a music rights dispute — ultimately solved Friday — that made international news at the Games.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 10, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press