Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, September 19, 2021: Kazakhstan’s short track speed skaters will compete in four legs of the World Cup this year in a bid to win berths at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
A large squad is currently in a training camp in Ufa, the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. The final team of 12 to take part in World Cup events, which are all Olympic qualifiers, will be named at the end of September.
“We are training in Ufa and, at the end of this camp, which is at the end of this month, a selection will be made and we will pick six men and six women who will take part in the four stages of the World Cup where Olympic tickets will be awarded,” said head coach Madigali Karsybekov.
In a move to ensure a fair selection process, judges from Russia have been invited to pick the final 12-strong national squad, according to Karsybekov.
This squad will then take part in the four legs of the World Cup starting in Beijing from October 21-24, then Nagoya, Japan, October 28-31; Debrecen, Hungary, November 18-21; and Dordrecht, the Netherlands, November 25-28. All four events are Olympic qualifiers.
"The list of athletes who will go to the Olympics will be known by early December," Karsybekov concluded.
There will be four events – three individual and one team - in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the Beijing 2022 Games in February. Also a mixed team relay will make its debut at these Games.
