Abzal AZHGALIYEV

Kazakhstan

Short Track Speed Skating

Date of Birth: 30 Jun 1992

Age: 29

Gender: Male

Place of birth: ORAL

Birth Country:

Kazakhstan

Residence: ORAL

Residence Country:

Kazakhstan

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Short Track Speed Skating	Men's 500m	4
	Mixed Team Relay KAZ Kazakhstan	5

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
After Quarterfinal 1	Capital Indoor Stadium	Mixed Team Relay - Quarterfinal 2	Finished
	Capital Indoor Stadium	Mixed Team Relay - Semifinal 1	Finished
	Capital Indoor Stadium	Mixed Team Relay - Final B	Finished
After Heat 5	Capital Indoor Stadium	Men's 500m - Heat 6	Finished
After Quarterfinal 2	Capital Indoor Stadium	Men's 500m - Quarterfinal 3	Finished
After Semifinal 1	Capital Indoor Stadium	Men's 500m - Semifinal 2	Finished
	Capital Indoor Stadium	Men's 500m - Final A	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Athlete:

Historical Results

Olympic Games
Rank	Event	Year	Location
5	Men's 5000 metres Relay	2014	Sochi, RUS
6	Men's 5000 metres Relay	2018	PyeongChang, KOR
9	Men's 500m	2018	PyeongChang, KOR

World Championships
Rank	Event	Year	Location
6	Men's 5000m Relay	2021	Dordrecht, NED
6	Men's 5000m Relay	2017	Rotterdam, NED

World Cup
Season	Men's 500m	Men's 1000m	Men's 1500m
2021/22	12
2019/20	3	57	59
2018/19	8	26
2017/18	12	45
2016/17	2	37
2015/16	38	88	84
2014/15	41	58
2013/14		50	34
2012/13	119	69	62
2010/11	91	110	51
2009/10	93		78

Hobbies:

Video games (Counter-Strike, FIFA), football (supports FC Akzhayik Uralsk and FC Barcelona), poetry (enjoys the work of the Kazakh poet Abai Qunanbaiuly)

Occupation:

Athlete

Education:

Graduated in 2018 from Kazakh Academy of Sport and Tourism (Almaty), with a degree in sports studies

Languages spoken:

Kazakh, Russian, English

Club name:

Dynamo

Coach:

National: Madygali Karsybekov (KAZ)
Personal: Pyotr Gamidov (KAZ)

Debut:

2009 World Cup in Beijing (1500m - 55th)

Injuries:

December 2018: Right foot fracture after falling at a training camp in Moscow and missed the remainder of the season. Spent nine months in recovery, before returning to competition in September at the Russian Cup in Moscow.

Start:

Started speed skating at age 11 in Oral. "I was in the fourth grade when the coaches came to school and announced the opening of an ice arena. Several guys went there. Nobody took me there, I went of my own free will. From that point on I have been doing this sport. I started at the same time as Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev (KAZ)." (isu.org; rus.azattyq.org, 11 Jan 2017)

Reason:

"At first I did not practice seriously as I went there with my classmates and did not like it at all, but later I liked it. I worked out for a couple of years and then realised that this is my field and I need to take it seriously." (Qazap TV YouTube, 28 Oct 2019)

Ambition:

Become Olympic champion and bring glory to Kazakhstan. (Athlete, 20 May 2021)

Memorable:

Competing at the Olympic Winter Games (2014, 2018), winning relay bronze at the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana and winning the 500m at the 2016 World Cupin Salt Lake City. (isu.org; INFO 2018)

Hero:

"I do not have idols but there are some athletes that I like. They include Viktor An (RUS), Canadian Charles Hamelin and Wang Meng from the Chinese team. These athletes are inspiring." (Qazaq TV YouTube, 28 Oct 2019)

Influence:

Mother (isu.org)

Ritual:

Holds a dinner before competitions for all his close friends and relatives to attend and wish him luck. (Athlete, 20 May 2021)

Philosophy:

"Just do it." (isu.org)

Award:

Kazakhstan flagbearer at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony.

Kazakhstan Olympic Committee's Kazakh Athlete of the Month (Nov 2019)
Olympic Winter Games opening/closing ceremony flagbearer (2018)
Master of Sports of International Class of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2016)
Master of Sports of the Republic of Kazakhstan (2007)
Tree planted in the Alley of Champions (2018)

General Interest

TRAINING ABROAD
Trained with the Kazakh national short track team in Heerenveen, alongside the Dutch national team from 2015-18. "Oral has everything: an ice arena, a gym. However, there is no special machine for cleaning and levelling the ice, or equipment for maintaining a particular temperature. So it is quite difficult to conduct fully-fledged training there." The team trained with the Russian national team in Novogorsk in 2018, before permanently returning to Kazakhstan in 2019. (rus.azattyq.org, 11 Jan 2017; informburo.kz, 9 Dec 2018; Qazaq TV YouTube, 28 Oct 2019)

OLYMPIC FLAGBEARER
Selected as Kazakhstann's flagbearer for the PyeongChang 2018 opening ceremony. "It was very exciting. The whole country looks at you, stadium opens and all the athletes follow you, the whole delegation follows you. It was really exciting for me. I prepared psychologically and now I'm glad that everything went well." (Qazaq TV YouTube, 28 Oct 2019)

MILITARY SERVICE
Served in the Kasakh military with the Air Force. "I think everyone should serve in the military. This is a country's honour after all. I'm an athlete then we have the same discipline, like to get up early to do everything in a certain order. That's what I like. Most young people avoid the army but I did not. I had no reason not to be in the army. That is why my experience in the army is positive." (Qazaq TV YouTube, 28 Oct 2019)

Milestones

Fourth in the 500m and fifth in the mixed team relay at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

First Kazakh skater to win a World Cup event and secure a podium finish, after victory in the 500m in Salt Lake City in November 2016. Finished the season second overall in the 500m, with a second podium in Minsk. Finished third overall in the 500m in 2020.

Most World Cup podiums for a Kazakh skater with eight (Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev has five, Aidar Bekzhanov has two). Azhgaliyev has six individual podiums, while Zhumagaziyev has three. Kazakhstan has two relay podiums.

National record holder in the 500m (39.881) set in November 2019 at the World Cup in Salt Lake City.

Two medals at the 2017 Winter Universiade in Almaty, with silver in the 500m and bronze in the relay.

Relay bronze at the 2011 Asian Winter Games in Astana.

Competed at two World Junior Championships (2010, 2011), with a fourth-place in the relay in 2011 (Courmayeur).

Social Media

Legend

:: Gold Medal Event

Timing and scoring provided by OMEGA. Results powered by Atos