Abzal Azhgaliyev

Abzal Azhgaliyev (born 30 June 1992) is a Kazakh male short-track speed skater.[1] He has competed in three Winter Olympic Games and is the first short-track skater from Kazakhstan to win a World Cup event.[2][3] Holding eight World Cup podiums, he is the most decorated Kazakh skater.[2]

Abzal Azhgaliyev
Personal information
Born (1992-06-30) 30 June 1992
Oral, Kazakhstan
Height1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Weight70 kg (150 lb; 11 st)
Sport
Country Kazakhstan
SportShort track speed skating
Coached byMadygali Karsybekov, Zhaslan Mukhambetkaliyev[1]
Medal record
Men's short track speed skating
Representing  Kazakhstan
Asian Winter Games
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Astana-Almaty 5000 m relay
World Cup
Gold medal – first place 2016 Salt Lake City 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Salt Lake City 5000 m relay
Universiade
Silver medal – second place 2017 Almaty 500 m
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Almaty 5000 m relay

Early life

Azhgaliyev was born in 1992 in Uralsk, West Kazakhstan.[4] He started skating at age nine when a recruiter came to his school and encouraged boys to try the sport.[5][2] At age eleven he tried short track and loved the speed of it.[5] He left secondary school and moved to a special school where he could focus on his training.[6] He graduated from the Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism with a degree in sports education.[2][6]

Career

His coaches are Madygali Karsybekov, Zhasulan Mukhambetkaliev, and Pyotr Gamidov.[2][6]

Azhgaliyev's first international competition was in Moscow in 2006. It hooked him on the sport.[5]

In 2007, Azhgaliyev was designated Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan.[2][7]

In 2011, Azhgaliyev was on the relay team that won the bronze medal in the Asian Games.[7]

Azhgaliyev was the first Kazakh skater to win a World Cup event when he medaled in the 500m in 2016 in Salt Lake City, UT, United States. His time was 40.373 seconds.[7][8] He received the title of Master of Sports of International Class of the Republic of Kazakhstan.[7]

With state funding, Azhgaliyev and the other members of the national relay team trained in the Netherlands.[9] However, he professed to prefer training in Kazakhstan, instead. He prefers to be with family.[9] Now he trains in Nur-Sultan, where new facilities have been constructed.[5] Russian skaters Semen Elistratov and Dmitry Migunov train in Nur-Sultan with the Kazakh team.[5]

He has skated three times in the Winter Olympics.

His first winter games were in Sochi, Russia, in 2014, where he skated in the Men's 5000 Meters Relay.[2] The team took fifth place.[4]

He was the flagbearer in the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Korea, where he was also the captain of the Kazakh National Olympic Team.[4] He competed in the Men's 5000 Meters Relay.[2]

In 2022, Azhgaliyev was once again the flagbearer for Kazakhstan.[2] In Beijing, China, he competed in the 500m Men's event, as well as the Mixed Team Relay team with Adil Galiakhmetov, Denis Nikisha, Yana Khan, and Olga Tikhonova.[10][2] Their relay team placed fifth.[2]

His athletic heroes include Russia's Viktor An, Canadian Charles Hamelin, and China's Wang Meng.[2]

Personal life

He enjoys playing video games and watching soccer. His favorite teams are FC Akzhayik Uralsk and FC Barcelona. Before big races, he likes to have dinner with friends and family.[2]

References
  1. "Abzal Azhgaliyev". sochi2014.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2014.
  2. "Abzal AZHGALIYEV". Olympics.com.
  3. "Abzal Azhgaliyev". www.isu.html.infostradasports.com. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  4. INFORM.KZ (2018-01-09). "Abzal Azhgaliyev to be Kazakhstan flag bearer at PyeongChang 2018 Olympics". Казинформ. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  5. "Azhgaliyev targets Kazakh glory in Beijing - International Skating Union". isu.org. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  6. "Что известно о знаменосце сборной Казахстана на зимней Олимпиаде-2018". ztb.kz. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  7. "Абзал Ажгалиев". Қазақстанның жаңа есімдері (in Russian). Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  8. "Абзал Ажгалиев с рекордом Казахстана стал вторым на этапе Кубка мира по шорт-треку". Olympic.kz. Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  9. Меделбек, Руслан (23 February 2018). "Қазақ шорт-трекшілері жүлдеге ілінбеді". Азаттық радиосы (in Kazakh). Retrieved 2022-02-12.
  10. "Short Track Speed Skating - Team Kazakhstan". Olympics.com.
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