Kazakhstan celebrates historic Top 20 standing at Milan-Cortina Olympics
On February 22, Italy’s Verona hosted the closing ceremony of the XXV Winter Olympic Games, Qazinform News Agency reports.
The event took place at the iconic Arena di Verona, one of the symbols of Italy’s rich cultural heritage. In March, the venue will host the opening ceremony of the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games.
After the closing parade, the Olympic flag was lowered and passed to the next host nation. The 2030 Winter Games will take place in the French Alps, marking France’s fourth time hosting the Winter Olympics, following 1924, 1968, and 1992.
At the Milan-Cortina Games, Kazakhstan finished 19th in the overall medal standings with one gold medal - its best result since 1994, when the team placed 12th in Lillehammer.
The country’s sole medal was won by figure skater Mikhail Shaidorov, who became Kazakhstan’s first Olympic champion in figure skating history.
Previously, Kazakhstan had only one medal in figure skating - a bronze won by Denis Ten at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
In speed skating, Nadezhda Morozova finished sixth in the women’s 3,000‑meter race and tenth in the 5,000‑meter heat, marking Kazakhstan’s best result since 1998. Elizaveta Golubeva placed seventh in the 1,500‑meter event and ranked among the top ten in the 3,000‑meter race. The women’s team also reached the top eight in the team competition.
In ski jumping, 19-year-old Ilya Mizernykh achieved eighth spot on the large hill, demonstrating the best Olympic result in Kazakhstan’s history in this discipline.
In short track, Denis Nikisha finished seventh in the men’s 500‑meter event, improving his result from the previous Olympics.
In freestyle moguls, two Kazakh athletes finished in the top ten: Anastasia Gorodko took eighth place, while Pavel Kolmakov came ninth, surpassing their results from the 2022 Games.
In speed skating, Yevgeny Koshkin finished ninth in the men’s 500‑meter race. In freestyle aerials mixed team competition, Kazakhstan’s squad secured seventh place.
As for figure skating, 19‑year‑old Sofya Samodelkina, competing in her first Olympics, finished tenth in women’s singles - the best result in Kazakhstan’s history in this discipline.
In general, 36 athletes - 18 men and 18 women – represented Kazakhstan in 10 disciplines at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
The Games brought together around 3,000 athletes from 93 countries, who competed for 116 sets of medals in 16 disciplines.
Earlier, Qazinform reported that Mikhail Shaidorov carried Kazakhstan's flag at the 2026 Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony.
