The International “Kosanov Memorial” Athletics Tournament has kicked off in Almaty, featuring representatives from over 20 Asian countries. The immense popularity of this memorial is due to it being the final Asian championship providing an opportunity to meet the qualifying standards for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Elina Mikhina, a runner from Ridder, managed to “catch the last train” to Brazil.
The 400m sprint is the signature event for our fellow countrywoman. It was in this race that Elina took second place at the Asian Indoor Championships earlier this year. And at the Kosanov Memorial, which can be compared to a continental championship in terms of prestige, she became the absolute strongest! However, it wasn’t the victory itself that granted the Olympic berth, but the time recorded during the race. Elina won the final with a result of 52.09 seconds, which is significantly faster than the Olympic qualifying standard.
Mikhina became the third representative of EKR athletics to secure a trip to Rio. Previously, standards were met by Olga Rypakova and marathon runner Irina Smolnikova. The latter, like Mikhina, is a product of Ridder’s athletics program. It is remarkable that Ridder athletics secured two Olympic spots, especially considering the total lack of proper training facilities in this mining town. In the winter, track athletes are forced to train by running through school corridors.
Another medal at the memorial was won by Evgeniy Chettykbayev from Ust-Kamenogorsk. He took second place in the triple jump. His result of 16.3m followed Roman Valiyev’s jump of 16.8m. It seems that with such a performance, Valiyev has every chance of heading to his fourth career Olympics! Third place in this discipline went to a representative from Malaysia with a mark of 16.01m.
Alexey Gubanov Photo – athleticsasia.org Source: vksport.kz
