Almaty, Kazakhstan, May 20, 2023: The Kazakhstan leg of the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run brought 500 participants to the Dynamo Stadium in Almaty at 6am on Saturday, May 20. The fun run was held over 500m, 1km, 2km and 5km, and 300 runners received a medal.
China’s Consul General in Almaty, Jiang Wei, said the 19th Asian Games would be taking place in the golden autumn season, from September 23 to October 8, and would be a grand event for all Asian countries, including China and Kazakhstan.
Almaty is still remembered for hosting a successful Asian Winter Games in 2011, in partnership with co-host city Astana.
“I am very glad that the Asian Games Fun Run is being held in the beautiful city of apples – Almaty,” the Consul General said.
“Almaty is an important strategic point on the ancient Silk Road, and in 2011 the city successfully hosted 7th Asian Winter Games.
“The Fun Run is being held in honour of the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou, so Almaty is a wonderful meeting point of two cities participating in the Asian Games.
“China takes this opportunity to sincerely invite athletes from Kazakhstan and friends from all walks of life to come together in beautiful Hangzhou, and to strengthen friendship, promote peace, inspire hope and fulfill dreams through sports. I also believe and look forward to how Chinese and Kazakh athletes will reach new heights at the Asian Games in Hangzhou.”
The Deputy Director of Environment Sustainability for the Hangzhou Asian Games Organising Committee (HAGOC) said: “Since the launch of the Asian Games Fun Run overseas campaign in October 2022, the event has been held in 21 cities and enjoyed a high level of participation from athletes and the public across Asia.
“The Asian Games Fun Run being held here in Almaty symbolises the good relations between our two great cities, enhances the two countries’ friendship and will help spread joy and anticipation across Asia.
“The China-Central Asia Summit promotes cooperation and communication between China and Kazakhstan. This Fun Run event will also spread happiness and hope. In closing, I would like to wish this Fun Run every success. I wish that Kazakhstan athletes will perform excellently at the Hangzhou Asian Games.”
Projects and Operations Manager Wissam Trkmani represented the OCA at the fun run and said: “It is great to come back to Almaty, the city that successfully hosted the 2011 Asian Winter Games. Kazakhstan is always an important member of OCA and a great force in the Asian Olympic Movement. I thank Kazakhstan NOC for all the efforts and the great work for its preparation of the Hangzhou Asian Games Fun Run.”
A press conference to promote the Kazakhstan leg of the Asian Games Fun Run was held at the Kazakhstan Olympic Committee offices in Almaty on Friday and attended by KOC Secretary General Andrey Kryukov, Consul General Jiang Wei and representatives from the Olympic Council of Asia.
Secretary General Kryukov said he was delighted to welcome representatives of the OCA and HAGOC at this special event dedicated to the 19th Asian Games Hangzhou 2022.
“The upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou will be the biggest sporting event since the end of the coronavirus pandemic,” Andrey said. “It should be noted that, in terms of sports and the number of participants, the Asian Games are no less ambitious than the Olympic Games.
“We expect that more than 700 Kazakh athletes will go to Hangzhou. Therefore, NOC Kazakhstan pays special attention to the preparations for the upcoming Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“We are glad to hear about the high readiness of sports facilities for the upcoming Games. We are looking forward to September and we are sure that the Kazakh team will show good results. At the same time, noting the highest level of the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, we have no doubt that the organisation of the Asian Games in Hangzhou will receive the highest praise from the international sports community.”
The Director of Media and Broadcasting, Mr. Jeans Zhou Jian, represented the OCA at the press conference on Friday and said the fun run series had built up excitement throughout the continent ahead of the 19th Asian Games.
