Kazakhstan NOC News
05 July 2024 - Find here the latest news from the National Olympic Committee: events, courses, general assemblies and elections, trophies and much more.
05 July 2024 - To celebrate Olympic Day, the NOC organised various events within the “Sport is for All” concept. The events started with the traditional "Olympian is Born" campaign, welcoming all babies born in the country on 23 June. The main part of the festive programme was held in the capital, Astana, with competitions in basketball, water polo, interactive hockey, swimming and triathlon. In total, more than 1,000 people, including many children, joined the celebration over several days. In addition, the official uniforms of Kazakh national team at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 were handed over to the National Museum Fund. Full details here.
20 december 2021 - On 12 December, the NOC of Kazakhstan held the Аltyn Samgay-2021 National Sports Awards. The event coincided with the 30th anniversary of the Republic of Kazakhstan’s independence. The ceremony was held in a hybrid format in three cities simultaneously, in the capital Nur-Sultan for the main ceremony, and in Almaty and Turkestan. The winners were voted for online on Olympic.kz by the general public over a period from 22 November to 6 December. The ceremony, which saw awards presented in several categories, was attended by athletes, coaches, sports federation leaders, politicians including the Prime Minister, Askar Mamin, and the NOC President, Timur Kulibayev. Full details here.
28 june 2021 - The NOC of Kazakhstan is devoting the whole of June to the significance of the Olympic values under the motto: “Biz Birgemiz! Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together”. On 23 June, the Olympic Day relay between the five regions of the country ended in the capital, Nur-Sultan, with an urban sports festival featuring 3x3 basketball, streetball, street workout performances and teqball. The other regions organised the following events: Almaty held a climbing tournament; Petropavlovsk organised a cycling race with Olympic champion Alexander Vinokurov; Ust-Kamenogorsk staged track and field championships for children; and in Aktau, Olympic boxing medallist Adilbek Niyazymbetov and judoka Aibek Imashev held masterclasses in boxing and judo. More details here. In addition, following the local tradition, all the babies born on 23 June received certificates and letters from Olympians. More info here. Furthermore, like every year, UNESCO and the NOC celebrated Olympic Day among children and adolescents with special needs. This year, teenagers from the children’s hospice in Almaty got to meet their favourite athletes, tell their own stories and listen to others, to recharge themselves with energy and motivation.
22 February 2021 - Andrey Kryukov, the Secretary General of the NOC of Kazakhstan, recently met International Skiing Federation (FIS) Freestyle Moguls and Aerials Race Director Andrea Rinaldi. They discussed the organisation of the upcoming Moguls and Aerials World Championships 2021, which will be held from 8 to 11 March in Almaty, just before the World Cup Finals on 13 and 14 March, also in Almaty. The preparation of the Kazakhstan national team for the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, as well as the possibility of involving world-leading experts in the training of teams as consultants were also discussed. More details on www.olympic.kz/en.
01 February 2021 - Last month, the NOC of Kazakhstan held an online session of its General Assembly. The agenda included a review of a number of issues pertaining to the preparations for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The Assembly also appointed Andrey Kryukov as the new NOC Secretary General. More info here.
11 September 2020 - The NOC of Kazakhstan has reported that, on 6 August, Kazakhstan Olympic swimmer Vitaliy Khudyakov swam 56 kilometres across the world’s second largest alpine lake, Issyk-Kul (Kyrgyzstan). The athlete made a record-breaking swim across in 13 hours. His achievement was timed to coincide with the start of the open-water marathon in the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as well as to support all health workers who are on the frontline against COVID-19. Vitaliy Khudyakov is a Tokyo 2020 open-water qualifier, a four-time Asian Championships winner and a 2014 and 2016 Beach Games winner. Full info here.
29 june 2020 - “The Olympics start with childhood” was the slogan of the Olympic Day celebrations in Kazakhstan. The NOC of Kazakhstan prepared a varied programme with activities for athletes and sports fans, all digitised due to the coronavirus pandemic. A children's drawing contest was held, with more than 200 drawings done by children from all over the country. An almost four-hour live show with prominent athletes from the Kazakhstan Olympic team joined an online interactive marathon to congratulate spectators on Olympic Day, by sharing their sports stories and telling them about effective and favourite exercises necessary to keep fit, even at home. The NOC also congratulated all babies born on Olympic Day in Kazakhstan. There were also Olympic meetings for children with special needs – a joint project of the NOC of Kazakhstan and the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty. More info here and at https://olympic.kz/en.
16 march 2020 - The Secretary General of the NOC of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Saken Mussaibekov, met with the Regional Representative of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) for Central Asia, Yasuko Oda, in Nur-Sultan, the country’s capital on 11 March. There are approximately 600 refugees as of today living in Kazakhstan and most of them live in the biggest cities of the country – Almaty and Shymkent. Mussaibekov expressed support to the refugees living in Kazakhstan and the NOC commitment’s to establishing a strong partnership between the two organisations. Both parties agreed to sign the Memorandum of Understanding as an important component of joint efforts to promote sport among refugees and draw public attention to the issue of refugees in Kazakhstan and Central Asia, as a whole. More info at www.olympic.kz
21 february 2020 - The NOC of Kazakhstan has announced that a working meeting of secretaries general of Central Asian NOCs was held in Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan). The meeting was attended by the Vice-President of the NOC of Kazakhstan, Andrey Kryukov, and representatives from the NOCs of Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan. The main topics on the agenda were the cooperation between NOCs in the region and the resumption of the Central Asian Games. The setting-up of joint training camps with other countries was also discussed. The meeting concluded with the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the NOCs of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan regarding joint training camps and cooperation in anti-doping activities. Full info here.
28 june 2019 - In Kazakhstan, Olympic Day was celebrated with a major sports festival held in Nur-Sultan and Almaty. The event in the capital’s Stolichny central park was attended by the Vice-Minister of Culture and Sports Yeldos Ramazanov, the director of the Sports Department of the NOC of Kazakhstan Elsiyar Kanagatov and many young athletes. Looking ahead to the next Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, the Embassy of Japan in Kazakhstan joined the celebration, and classes were conducted on wearing a kimono and Japanese calligraphy. Master classes in boxing, ju-jitsu, zumba, yoga and cross-fit were also on the programme along with the traditional bike ride.
18 april 2019 - The Kazakhstan NOC has issued a limited-edition calendar featuring #teamKZ athletes. For this special project initiated by the NOC, athletes had the opportunity to become a model for a day and try out new looks. Olympic.kz shares the outcome of the project which involved 30 representatives of the Kazakhstan Olympic team. The IOC President was presented with the #teamKZ limited-edition calendar during the 9th International Athletes’ Forum (photo). More details on www.olympic.kz
18 March 2019 - The Kazakhstan NOC has signed a memorandum of cooperation with UNESCO. The document was signed by Saken Mussaibekov, NOC Secretary General, and Krista Pikkat, Director of the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, during their meeting in the Kazakhstan NOC branch office in Almaty. Within the framework of this memorandum, the parties intend to join forces to promote physical education and sport. Special attention will be focused on inclusive and equal access to sports, as well as developing the Olympic Movement among the people of Kazakhstan. The collaboration will focus on key areas such as Sport for All, education, gender equality and the fight against doping. More info here.
15 January 2019 - The NOC of Kazakhstan and the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office organised a seminar for female athletes from Kazakhstan on 13 and 14 December 2018. With the theme of women athletes’ career transition, this seminar brought together over 30 women who were either active athletes, had completed their sports career or where preparing to change social spheres. The participants were given advice on developing communications skills, self-presentation and career guidance. The NOC representatives also underlined the existence of Olympic Solidarity international programmes. More info here.
20 december 2018 - The NOC of Kazakhstan held the 2018 edition of its National Sports Awards on 4 December in Astana. The winners were voted for online by the general public over a two-week period. The NOC received around 500,000 votes in total. The ceremony, which saw awards presented in nine categories, was attended by athletes, including Olympians, national sports federation leaders and NOC partners, among others. Notable guests included the Minister for Culture and Sport, Arystanbek Mukhamediuly; the Minister for Information and Communications, Dauren Abayev; and the Chair of the NOC’s Women in Sport Commission, Umut Shayakhmetova. More details here.
10 december 2018 - The Kazakh medallists from the Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 were honoured during a ceremony in Astana in the presence of Kazakhstan NOC President Timur Kulibayev and the Kazakh Minister of Culture and Sport, ArystanbekMukhamediuly. Fifty-eight athletes from Kazakhstan competed in 23 sports in Buenos Aires. More info here.
30 October 2018 - Following a working meeting, the NOC of Kazakhstan and UNESCO Almaty decided to strengthen efforts around sports-based initiatives for the further development and promotion of the following four main areas: education, sport for all, gender equality and the fight against doping. Full details here.
7 August 2018 - The NOC of Kazakhstan, Fukuoka Prefecture and the City of Kurume have signed a memorandum of understanding on the training camp for the Olympic team of the Republic of Kazakhstan prior to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. The signing ceremony took place on 24 July in Kurume in the prefecture of Fukuoka, Japan. The NOC’s Sports Department Director, Elsiyar Kanagatov, the Governor of Fukuoka, Hiroshi Ogawa, and the Mayor of Kurume, Tsutomu Okubo, signed the MoU, which will allow Kazakh athletes to undergo a high-quality preparation process and acclimatise just before the Olympic Games. More info on www.olympic.kz.
9 July 2018 - On 23 and 24 June, sports competitions were hosted throughout Kazakhstan as a celebration of Olympic Day. An event called “The games of young nomads” was organised by the Centre for Palliative Care for Children with oncology diseases ("I am with You") with the active support of the UNESCO Cluster Office in Almaty and the NOC of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The games, which involved more than 180 children with oncological diseases, were organised under the slogan "Move, Explore! Discover!" and featured competitions in various sports. Kazakhstan champions, wrestlers Amandyk Bakiyev and Zhiger Zakirov, Olympic freestyle skier Zhanbota Aldabergenova and judoka Azamat Mukanov were present at the ceremony, during which each participant received gifts, prizes and an IOC certificate. More info at www.olympic.kz.
4 June 2018 - The “Alley of Champions” in the “Park of Lovers” Square in Astana has just got bigger. New trees have been planted by four great Kazakh athletes: Denis Ten (bronze medal, Sochi 2014), Otgontsetseg Galbadrakh (bronze medal, Rio 2016), Merey Akshalov (world boxing champion) and Abzal Azhgaliyev (PyeongChang 2018 flagbearer). This joint eco-initiative of the NOC of Kazakhstan and the City Council of Astana was launched after the Olympic Games Rio 2016. The first trees were planted by the winners and diploma-winners of the 2016 Games, followed by respected national sports veterans. Info at www.olympic.kz.
28 May 2018 - On 24 May, the NOC of Kazakhstan opened a permanent exhibition entitled "Olympic Movement in Kazakhstan" in the Library of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan in Astana. The exhibition will showcase the sporting history of the country, the history of the NOC, Kazakhstan’s participation at the Olympic Games and the performances by the country’s athletes and will feature items belonging to the athletes. Kazakhstani athletes Serik Sapiyev, Vassiliy Levit, Denis Ten, Guzel Manyurova, Kairat Yeraliyev and Abzal Azhgaliyev were the honorary guests at the inauguration. The opening of the exhibition has been timed to coincide with the celebration of Olympic Day. Indeed, on 23 June, one more exhibition is scheduled to open. Olympic Solidarity is also supporting the launch of this exhibition. More details on www.olympic.kz