Astana, Kazakhstan, June 25, 2024: The National Olympic Committee of Kazakhstan marked Olympic Day celebrations with a series of events across the country including its "Olympian is Born" campaign for the fifth successive year.
“International Olympic Day unites people from all corners of the world with shared aspirations for victory. We celebrate it with children around - our little future champions.
"On behalf of the Kazakhstan National Olympic Committee and the President of the NOC, Mr. Gennadiy Golovkin, I congratulate everyone on Olympic Day,” said Ms. Zhanar Utesheva, NOC Secretary General.
Within the Sport for All concept, NOC events began with the traditional Olympian is Born campaign by welcoming all babies born on June 23 in the country – the future champions.
Gifts were sent in advance to 240 maternity hospitals across all 17 regions of Kazakhstan, including Astana, Almaty and Shymkent.
“NOC Kazakhstan warmly upholds this tradition. We emphasise that every child is a champion, whether they pursue sports or not. We hope their dreams come true, just like our athletes have shown that ambitious dreams can become reality,” the NOC stated.
Last year, around 2,000 babies were born on Olympic Day. The Olympian is Born campaign was started in 2020 by the NOC with support from the Ministry of Health.
Sports events were also held throughout the country including ice hockey, virtual hockey, water polo and swimming. The Kazakhstan national breaking team also performed a demonstration of the sport.
The main celebrations took place in the capital Astana over several days with more than 1,000 participants in various sporting events.
The Olympic Day celebrations also featured the ceremonial handover of the official uniforms of the Kazakhstan national team at Tokyo 2020 to the National Museum. Olympic medallist Kamshybek Kunkabayev and Olympic champion Olga Rypakova, who are also active members of the NOC’s Athletes Commission, participated.
