For the first time, the competition was dedicated to the celebration of Christmas.
At the opening ceremony, the athletes were told about this holiday to give them a full understanding of what this celebration represents. This undoubtedly became the highlight of the tournament, prepared by the organizers. The rest of the “spice” was generously added by the athletes themselves.
The competitions at the O. Rypakova Athletics Center were held in three age categories. The participants included 110 athletes from Ust-Kamenogorsk, Belousovka, and Ridder.
Unfortunately, among the girls, it will be remembered that there were very few participants. Across the three age categories, there were only 50 female participants! Among the oldest girls born in 1998–1999, there were only three! That is catastrophically few. If the situation does not change, then at the junior level in the regional center only Erika Kem and Moldir Seitkhanova will remain. Moreover, Seitkhanova is from Ridder, and Kem began her athletic career in the Kokpekti district. Among the boys, the situation was only slightly better. Of course, illnesses, winter holidays, and other circumstances prevented many from competing. So we hope that the small number of participants is only temporary.
The Birthday Boy
Let’s start with congratulations.
High jumper Georgiy Yermolov from Ust-Kamenogorsk celebrated his 18th birthday right in the jumping sector! Unfortunately, he couldn’t give himself the perfect gift by clearing 180 cm and once again finished with a height of 175 cm. However, it’s worth noting that both 170 cm and 175 cm were cleared on his third attempts, which speaks of his strong character. We hope that this very character will help him reach his maximum potential at the upcoming Kazakhstan Championships. We wish him success on behalf of our website’s editorial team.
Ust-Kamenogorsk’s Answer to Pulyaeva
Ridder sprinter Olga Pulyaeva, living up to her surname (derived from “bullet”), once burst onto the scene with a storm of speed, beating athletes two years older when she was just a young girl. It seems that Ust-Kamenogorsk now has a similar phenomenon — Valeria Bromat.
Born in 2004, she managed to outrun older competitors in the most intense final of the first competition day. She was even faster than city champion Angelina Malkova, who in the autumn city championship had defeated the “great and terrible” Darya Demchenko in the 100-meter sprint.
Malkova, admittedly, was not in top shape due to illness, but this does not diminish Valeria Bromat’s achievement.
Dominators from Belousovka
The neighboring village did not send many athletes to the championship.
That’s why it was especially pleasant for coach Tsirikov that his students took the entire podium in the 60 m race for the 2000–2001 age group. Everyone was sure that Feshchenko would win. Only a false start — like Usain Bolt’s disqualification at the World Championships — could have stopped him.
But few predicted that his fellow villagers Sokolov and Sukhorukov would take the other two podium spots.
By the way, Daniil Prokopenko, also from Belousovka, took fourth place — complete domination!
In the same category and discipline, the biggest disappointment occurred.
Ramiz Kartayev, a sprinter with a great reputation and even medals from international competitions, failed to perform in the final on January 5. Hopefully, this was just an episode, not a trend.
He partly redeemed himself by winning the 60 m hurdles. Now only the regional championship remains to restore full confidence.
Comeback of the Year
Anna Maidankina.
Yes, that same girl who once competed in various events but didn’t make a notable mark. Since then, she tried karate, dancing, even fire-rescue sports.
But her roots in athletics eventually pulled her back — and apparently, for good reason!
Now taller and stronger, Maidankina became one of the biggest discoveries of the championship.
The 60 m women’s race didn’t have a star lineup, but the confidence with which she won amazed everyone. In the final, she outran second-place Anastasia Berezutskaya by 0.39 seconds!
By the end of the championship, she became one of only five athletes to win three medals.
Even in the 200 m — the classic rivalry between Alexandra Egorina and Anastasia Zavodina — Maidankina fit right in. Yes, she lost to both, but it’s important how you lose. All three ran under 27 seconds, while others lagged behind by three seconds or more!
So Maidankina showed she can compete at the top level — and hopefully, this is only the beginning!
The Collectors
As always, we’d like to mention the athletes who earned the most awards by competing in multiple events.
The standout was Alexander Ibragimov, who earned four certificates in entirely different disciplines: 60 m sprint, 4×200 m relay, shot put, and long jump.
It’s great to see such a bright debut at the very start of the new year.
The most decorated athlete was Amir Aimkanov, competing in the 2002–2003 category. He became the only three-time Ust-Kamenogorsk champion!
Among triple medalists were five girls — Kristina Morozova (Belousovka), Anna Maidankina, Ekaterina Efremova, Kristina Kharitonova, and Anastasia Pavlova — and six boys: Kuanish Zhaparov, Amir Aimkanov, Vladislav Bakhtin, Timur Zholdotaev, Ruslan Kartayev, and Amir Mamyrbekov.
Special mention goes to double city champions Anastasia Zavodina, Alexander Aksyutin, Roman Martynov, Valeria Bromat, and Elizaveta Buluchevskaya.
As for Moldir Seitkhanova, Miras Makzumov, Dmitry Byvshev, and Evgeniya Borodulina, their success is undisputed — but on 3000 m and 1500 m distances, they had no rivals at all.
Alexey Gubanov
Source: vksport.kz
