It may have gone unnoticed to some or most, but the name of the capital of Kazakhstan was changed last year from Astana to Nur-Sultan, in honour of their previous, and first, president Nur-sultan Nazarbayev.
Back to triathlon, Kazahkstan had one famous ruler as well; Dmitry Gaag, the 1999 ITU World Champion, 2000 and 2004 winner of the ITU World Cup Rankings, and 4th place at the 2000 Athens Olympics. As his decline set in after 2006, he was caught for EPO in 2008 and given a 2-year ban. He did return to the sport, but did not manage to shine again on the world stage. Although, a 3rd place at the 2010 Asian Games and 2nd place at the Asian Beach Games in Muscat are still nice accolades on anyone’s resume. ..and Muscat is where we happen to go next!
The probably best-known Kazakh triathlete is ex-cyclist Vinoukorov, who won his age group at the 2019 IM70.3 World Champs in Nice. This could well have led to Kazakhstan stepping up with events recently. Since 2018 they host an ITU World Cup and an Ironman 70.3. A full Ironman made its debut 2019.
Find out more about MetaSport Live and the Triathlon World Tour, 6 May – 1 June 2020, here. If you wish, join us, it’s free!
Check here the other Triathlon Destinations reached by the MetaSport Live Triathlon World Tour participants and learn interesting triathlons facts.
Find out more about MetaSport Live and the Triathlon World Tour, 6 – 23 May 2020, here. If you wish, join us, it’s free!
Check here the other Triathlon Destinations reached by the MetaSport Live Triathlon World Tour participants and learn interesting triathlons facts.
