2018 Paralympics Update: Kazakhstan Wins Its Very First Gold Medal

Paralympic skier Aleksandr Kolyadin made history on Wednesday in Pyeongchang, South Korea, when he won the first gold medal ever to be claimed by a Kazakhstani athlete.

Kolyadin’s big win came as a result of him having the best results in the men’s Cross-Country Skiing event. Japan’s Yoshihiro Nitta came in second, while Finland’s Ilkka Tuomisto placed third.

This year’s Paralympics are Kolyadin’s second, after competing in Sochi. In 2014, Kolyadin was unable to close the gap on his rivals, but this year he showed determination to win.

“We try to work at our maximum,” Kolyadin told Kostanay News prior to the Games.

“In individual races, unfortunately, not everything depends on the athlete. The result is affected by slip and relief, which is very complex in Korea. But we will try our best.”

The 45-year old skier was born in Kazakhstan’s northern region of Kostanay, and used to be a professional wrestler before he lost his right leg in a car accident in 1997. Sergey Revutsky, Aleksandr’s coach who helped him make a comeback in 2012, steered the athlete towards skiing. Since then Kolyadin has regularly made Kazakhstan’s national team for various competitions.

Other Kazakhstani athletes competing in this year’s Paralympics, which wrap up on Sunday, include Sergey Usoltzev, Kairat Kanafin, Aleksandr Gerlitz, Denis Petrenko and Zhanyl Baltabaeva, who are vying for medals in Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing events.

Seventeen medals have already been won by Paralympians from another Caspian country, namely Russia, who are technically competing as “Neutral Paralympic Athletes” (NPA) due to restrictions imposed on Russia by the International Olympic Committee, over a now-famous doping scandal that rocked the sports world.

Ekaterina Rumyantseva, age 27, brought her team three gold medals, having ranked first in women’s Biathlon events in various distances, and in women’s Cross-Country Skiing events.

Russian Alpine Skiers Aleksei Bugaev and Valeriy Redkozubov also triumphed, having clinched three medals. Bugayev has become the two-time champion of the Winter Paralympics, taking gold in men’s Super-Combined and men’s Giant Slalom events. While ranking third in men’s Super-Combined event, Redkozubov took the bronze medal.

Another eight medals came from Mikhalina Lysova and Alena Milenina.

While grabbing gold and silver after showing good results in the women’s Biathlon event, 25-years old Mikhalina also succeeded in Cross-Country skiing, ranking second in the women’s 1.5 km Sprint Classic and finishing third in the 15 km free events. Alena, age 31, won one gold medal for her performance in the women’s 1.5 km sprint classic event, and also clinched three silver medals in the Biathlon and Cross-Country Skiing events.

Russia’s Marta Zainullina shined in Pyeongchang, as she ranked second in Biathlon, women’s 10 km event and grabbed bronze in Cross-Country Skiing. Irina Guliaeva ranked third in the same event, grabbing bronze.

The games officially opened on Friday, March 9, although competitions began on March 7.