Kazakhstan at the Olympics
Kazakhstan athletes have been participating in the Olympic Games since 1900 but they did so under a difference delegation. Between 1900 and 1912, they were part of the Russian Empire (RU1) team. In 1952 all the way to 1988, they were part of the Soviet Union (URS) delegation. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, they were part of the Unified Team in 1992.
Kazakhstan's national governing body for the Olympic affairs, the National Olympic Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, was established in 1990 but was only recognized by the International Olympic Committee in 1993. Hence, their first time to participate in the Summer Games was in 1994 when they sent a total of 96 athletes to Atlanta, Georgia, USA for a number of disciplines like Athletics, Archery, Boxing, Cycling, Gymnastics, Judo, Swimming, Weightlifting, etc.
As with many of the countries that used to be part of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan athletes benefited greatly from decades of training and support from the Soviet Union which it comes as no surprise that they performed well in the first time they went to the Summer Games as an independent country. In their official debut, Kazakhstan athletes took a total of 11 Olympic medals home that included 3 gold medals.
This will also mark the beginning of a winning streak in the Summer Games that is yet to be broken.
For the Winter Games, the story is pretty much the same. They made their official debut as a country in Lillehammer, Norway for the 1994 Winter Games and have been participating consistently ever since.
Related Pages
- Kazakhstan at the Winter Olympics
- Information about the Soviet Union at the Olympics
- Russian Empire at the Olympics
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- About sport in Kazakhstan
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