Kazakhstan: record of Olympic success
Kazakhstan has participated in a total of eleven Olympic Games since gaining independence. There have been a total of five summer games and six winter games. With the majority of medals claimed at the Summer Games, Kazinform News Agency correspondent has compiled a comprehensive overview of Kazakhstan's impressive track record in the Olympics.
In Atlanta in 1996, the Kazakhstan team made its debut at the Olympic Games. The team, numbering a total of 96 athletes, showed brilliant results, winning 3 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze medals. This outstanding achievement earned them a respectable 24th place overall. The champions were boxer Vasily Zhirov, pentathlete Alexander Parygin, and Greco-Roman wrestler Yuri Melnichenko. The 1996 Olympics marked the beginning of Kazakhstan's significant era of triumph at the Summer Games.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, a group of 130 athletes managed to win an impressive amount of 3 gold and 4 silver medals. Although they did not win any bronze medals, their performance allowed them to finish 22nd overall. Bekzat Sattarkhanov, Ermakhan Ibraimov, and Olga Shishigina's victories led to three performances of Kazakhstan's national anthem at the main competitions of the four-year period.
At the 2004 Games in Athens, Kazakhstani athletes won an impressive result: 1 gold, 4 silver, and 3 bronze medals, which allowed them to take 40th place in the final ranking. Bakhtiyar Artayev became the only gold medalist in the boxing category. Gennady Golovkin, the silver medalist, achieved outstanding success in professional boxing, eventually becoming the world middleweight champion.
At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, Kazakhstan showed outstanding results, achieving enormous success in the history of the Games. Kazakhstani athletes demonstrated their talent, winning 2 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals, ultimately finishing 37th in the overall standings. The famous weightlifter Ilya Ilyin won the gold medal, bringing great pride to the nation with his outstanding achievements.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, 115 athletes from this country managed to win an impressive collection: 3 gold, 1 silver, and 7 bronze medals. This performance brought them a respectable 24th place overall. Kazakh athletes won the same number of medals as in Beijing, but what made this year stand out was the noticeable increase in the number of gold medals won. Alexander Vinokurov, Serik Sapiev, Zulfiya Chinshanlo, Maya Maneza, Svetlana Podobedova, Olga Rypakova, and Ilya Ilyin became triumphant athletes at the Olympic Games in London. It is noteworthy that Ilyin made history by becoming the first two-time Olympic champion from Kazakhstan. Former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev stressed the importance of these achievements, emphasizing that Olympic medals are not only individual successes but also victories for the entire nation, increasing Kazakhstan's international authority.
At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games, 104 athletes from Kazakhstan managed to collect an impressive number of medals. Among them were 2 gold, 5 silver, and 10 bronze medals. This outstanding achievement allowed Kazakhstan to take 22nd place in the overall medal standings.
In a surprising turn of events, the Kazakhstan team of 93 athletes returned from the Tokyo 2020 Games with no gold or silver medals. However, a total of 8 bronze medals were brought home, placing Kazakhstan in 83rd place in the overall standings.
Athletes from Kazakhstan routinely have exceptional success in a broad range of sports. With 24 medals won, Kazakhstan has emerged as a significant power in the boxing world. Kazakhstan earned ten bronze, seven silver, and seven gold medals. Impressively, the weightlifters won 12 medals in all, including 2 gold, 3 silver, and 7 bronze.
In athletics, the nation's medal total rose by 5, with 2 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze medals. The wrestlers from Kazakhstan had remarkable achievements, taking home 17 medals in all, consisting of 1 gold, 5 silver, and 11 bronze. In cycling, Kazakhstan excelled and took home 2 medals: silver and gold. The athletes from Kazakhstan also had success in swimming and modern pentathlon, winning gold medals in both sports.
In judo, Kazakhstani sportsmen stood out, taking home four medals (2 silver and 2 bronze). They continued to excel in shooting, winning three additional medals—two silver and one bronze. Athletes in taekwondo and karate added 2 and 1 bronze medal, respectively, to Kazakhstan's growing medal tally, demonstrating the nation's outstanding athletic ability.
Kazakhstan has won a total of 72 medals: 15 gold, 20 silver, and 36 bronze medals. With 80 Kazakhstan athletes preparing to compete in the summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, the nation is looking forward to more medals and new successes on the international stage.
