From April 22 to 24, 2026, the Kazakhstan U20 Athletics Championships were held in Shymkent at the Kazhymukan Munaitpasov Central Stadium. The East Kazakhstan Region (EKR) team delivered a consistent performance over all three days, winning medals in multiple events and achieving several international qualifying standards.
One of the key highlights of the tournament was Sofya Kidenko’s performance. In the 400 meters, she clocked 55.09 seconds, finishing ahead of Margarita Kosinova from Almaty (55.48) and Milana Zubareva from the Karaganda region (56.29). This result met the qualifying standard for the World U20 Championships.
Day 1
In the men’s long jump, Assan Azamatuly took second place with a result of 6.92 m. The winner was Alexander Kuzmichev (Mangystau) with 7.13 m, while Andrey Kim (Karaganda) finished third.
In the men’s shot put, Konstantin Uteshev won the event with a throw of 17.15 m, ahead of Vadim Pesotskiy (Shymkent) — 15.82 m and Yelisey Sobolkov (Karaganda) — 15.38 m. His result meets the qualifying standard for the Asian Championships.
In the women’s shot put, Viktoria Klimantseva placed third with 11.74 m, behind Yekaterina Serebrennikova (Almaty) — 12.20 m and Tatyana Ivanishko (Karaganda) — 11.82 m.
In the women’s 4×100 m relay, the EKR team (Kamilla Yelisseyeva, Amina Zhainakova, Nadiya Kerimova, Maria Cherepanova) finished third with a time of 49.47 seconds.
Day 2
In the women’s discus throw, Arina Mozulyako won bronze with a result of 37.30 m. Tomiris Ermatova (Shymkent) took first place with 42.87 m, while Alina Yussupova (Abai region) was second with 38.50 m.
Assan Azamatuly added another medal, finishing third in the triple jump with 14.22 m. He was behind Georgiy Kozma (Karaganda) — 14.78 m and Gleb Klepinin (Almaty) — 14.46 m.
In the decathlon, Askar Omirzak secured first place with 6451 points. Ayan Zhanbakiev (Almaty) was second with 6382 points, and Kirill Letcher (Akmola region) finished third with 5070 points. The winning result meets the qualifying standard for the Asian Championships.
Day 3
In the men’s hammer throw, Aldiyar Kayrollaev confidently took first place with 53.90 m. David Rusyanovsky (Kyzylorda region) placed second with 46.38 m, and Islam Yilmaz (Almaty) was third with 45.97 m.
In the women’s 800 meters, Darya Potocheskaya won the race with a time of 2:14.87. Anastasiya Zuikova (North Kazakhstan region) finished second with 2:16.23, while Aitunyk Kumarbekkyzy (Astana) placed third with 2:20.86.
EKR Team Results Summary
Gold medals:
- Sofya Kidenko — 400 m
- Konstantin Uteshev — shot put
- Askar Omirzak — decathlon
- Aldiyar Kayrollaev — hammer throw
- Darya Potocheskaya — 800 m
Silver medals:
- Assan Azamatuly — long jump
Bronze medals:
- Viktoria Klimantseva — shot put
- Women’s 4×100 m relay
- Arina Mozulyako — discus throw
- Assan Azamatuly — triple jump
Total: 5 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze medals.
