The Kazakhstan Speed Skating Championships have kicked off in Astana, with the first day of competition determining the winners in individual races and team sprint events, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Informsports.kz.

Yevgeniy Koshkin won the men's 500-meter race in 35.20 seconds, ahead of silver medalist Artur Galiyev (35.39 seconds) and bronze medalist Nikita Vazhenin (36.04 seconds).

In the women's 500-meter event, Kristina Silaeva took gold with a time of 38.28 seconds, followed by Kristina Shumekova (38.822 seconds) and Alina Dauranova (39.34 seconds).

Shumekova went on to claim another gold in the women's 3,000-meter race, clocking 4:14.93. Elizaveta Golubeva finished second in 4:16.35, while Diana Bachurina took bronze in 4:45.04.

Meanwhile, Vadim Yakubovskiy claimed the men's 5,000-meter title with a time of 6:41.19, ahead of Andrey Zuyev (6:55.56) and Abylaikhan Kaiyrgazy (6:58.19).

North Kazakhstan region claimed gold in the women's team sprint with a time of 1:34.14, followed by Astana (1:35.09) and Pavlodar region (1:35.91).

In the men's team sprint, Kostanay region took first place in 1:24.10, ahead of Astana (1:24.59) and Almaty (1:27.03).

The Kazakhstan Speed Skating Championships will conclude on October 15, with the results determining the selection of athletes for the national team ahead of the upcoming World Cup stages.

Earlier, Alexander Bublik, world No. 22, exited the Shanghai Masters in the round of 16.

AstanaKazakhstanSpeed SkatingSport