2 Kazakh short track speed skaters advance to Olympic quarterfinals
Qualification heats in the men’s 500m short track speed skating event took place at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, Qazinform News Agency reports.
Kazakhstan’s Abzal Azhgaliyev skated in the second heat, opting for a patient, tactical approach and allowing his rivals to contest positions early on. After a crash involving athletes from Türkiye and Latvia, he made his move, accelerating decisively to win the heat. Italy’s Pietro Sighel finished second, narrowly avoiding a fall as Türkiye’s Furkan Akar and Latvia’s Reinis Berzins went down.
Denis Nikisha competed in the third heat, maintaining second place behind Canada’s Steven Dubois until the final turn. However, in the closing stretch he was edged into third by Hungary’s John-Henry Krueger. Despite the third-place finish, Nikisha secured a spot in the quarterfinals as one of the fastest skaters of the day.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that Kazakhstani figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, a 21-year-old from Almaty, delivered the performance of his life to claim Kazakhstan’s first Olympic gold in figure skating.
