Winter Universiade 2017: Athletes to compete in 12 sports for 85 sets of medals

ASTANA. KAZINFORM The 28th Winter Universiade is the largest multi-sport 11-day competition to be attended by as many as 2,000 athletes. 85 sets of medals will be played out in 12 disciplines.    

The fight for the medals is expected to be bright as many world-famous athletes will join the event such as 2014 Olympic Games champion and world’s two-time short-track champion  Kim A-Lang from South Korea, 2014 Olympic Games participant and two-time Universiade champion (2013, 2015) in ski jumping Mikhail Maksimochkin from Russia,  champion of the Winter Youth Biathlon Games 2012  Kim Cheolyung from South Korea, champion of the 2015 Universiade in free style Nikol Kucherova from the Czech Republic, silver medalist of the 2011 Asian Games and two-time world champion among juniors of 2012 (1,500m, 3,00m) and champion  of the 2013 Universiade Hwang Hiun San, two-time champion  of the World Cup in Biathlon Baptiste Jouty from France etc.

The strongest figure skating team from Russia including world champion  and champion of Europe 2015 Yelizaveta Tuktamysheva also plans to join the Universiade 2017.

175 Kazakhstani sportsmen are training ahead of the Universiade 2017. Among them are Denis Ten (figure skating), Yuliya Galysheva (freestyle), Pavel Kolmakov (freestyle), Zhanbota Aldabergenova (freestyle), Roman Krech (speed skating), Stanislav Palkin (speed skating), Aidar Bekzhanov (short track), Abzal Azhgaliyev (short-track), Nurbergen Zhumagaziyev (short-track), Denis Nikisha (short-track) and many others.

 

In whole, 3 champions and 1 bronze medalist  of Youth Olympic Games, 11 champions and 6 prizewinners of the World Junior Championships, 6 champions of Winter Universiades, 20 champions and prizewinners of FIS winter starts and World Cup stages will compete at the Winter Universiade 2017 in Almaty.