At the upcoming Kazakhstan Athletics Championships, male athletes in the throwing disciplines will represent six regions and the cities of Almaty and Shymkent. Qazathletics.kz highlights the main contenders for medals.
This year’s Kazakhstan Athletics Championships will take place from July 10 to 12 at the Olympic Training Centre stadium in Almaty Region. In the men’s division, athletes will compete in javelin throw, discus throw, hammer throw, and shot put. They will represent six regions — Kostanay, Mangystau, Pavlodar, Turkistan, Karagandy, and East Kazakhstan — along with the two major cities of Almaty and Shymkent.
Nine athletes are entered in the javelin throw. The favourite here appears to be Artur Gafner from East Kazakhstan Region, who is about to turn 27. In late May, Gafner placed 13th at the Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea. One of the key questions this season is whether Gafner will manage to surpass the 75-metre mark and beat his personal best of 74.69m, set last year.
Close behind is another East Kazakhstan athlete, Aleksey Khlystov, who turns 22 in July. It’s likely that his current goal is to reach or surpass the 70-metre line.
In the shot put, five athletes are set to compete. Few would doubt that the title will go to Ivan Ivanov, who now represents East Kazakhstan Region. The intrigue lies in the distance he will achieve. So far this season, the 33-year-old’s best mark is 19.14 metres, recorded two weeks ago at the Kazakhstan Cup.
Nine athletes are also entered in the men’s discus throw. Among the top contenders are four experienced competitors, the youngest being 31-year-old Yevgeny Milovatsky. The favourite in this event is Yevgeny Labutov, who, like Milovatsky, represents Mangystau. Ivan Ivanov is steadily approaching the Master of Sport standard in this discipline as well. Given the strong field, it’s quite possible that Alexander Mamontov from Almaty will meet the master-level standard too.
Five athletes are listed for the men’s hammer throw. Based on submitted results, the top contender for gold is 28-year-old Aleksey Vladimirov from East Kazakhstan Region, who is also already involved in coaching.
In the photo: Aleksey Khlystov – javelin thrower from East Kazakhstan Region.
