ASTANA — With less than a month remaining before the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, it is time to turn to Kazakhstan’s Olympic legacy. Since its debut in the Olympics as an independent nation in 1994, the country has earned eight Winter Olympic medals across five sports.
Debut on the Olympic stage
Kazakhstan first competed at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway, shortly after gaining independence, according to the National Olympic Committee. That debut produced the country’s most successful Olympic performance to date and set a benchmark that remains unmatched.
Cross-country skier Vladimir Smirnov delivered Kazakhstan’s only Winter Olympic gold medal, winning the 50-kilometer race. He also claimed two silver medals in the 10 and 15-kilometer events at the same games. Smirnov added another Olympic medal four years later at the 1998 Nagano Games in Japan, where he secured bronze, establishing himself as one of the country’s most accomplished athletes.
Speed skating and biathlon breakthroughs
At the 1998 Nagano Olympics, speed skater Lyudmila Prokashova earned bronze in the 5,000-meter event. It remains Kazakhstan’s only Olympic medal in women’s speed skating.
After a 12-year gap without podium finishes, Kazakhstan returned to the medal table at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Biathlete Elena Khrustaleva won silver in the 15-kilometer individual race, finishing 20.7 seconds behind the winner. Biathlon combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting and is considered one of the most physically demanding winter sports.
Figure skating and freestyle skiing milestones
Figure skater Denis Ten secured bronze at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. After placing ninth in the short program, he delivered one of the strongest free skates of the competition, finishing third overall and marking a major milestone for Kazakhstan in figure skating. Ten died in July 2018.
Freestyle skier Yulia Galysheva repeated that achievement at the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics in South Korea, earning bronze in moguls. Moguls skiing features rapid turns and aerial jumps over a course of snow bumps and requires both speed and technical precision.
A small medal count, a lasting impact
In total, Kazakhstan has won eight medals at the Winter Olympics. Each medal marked a first in its discipline for the country, making every medalist a trailblazer in their respective sport.
As the Winter Olympics return to Europe in 2026, with events hosted in Milan and the Alpine resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo, Kazakhstan’s athletes will look to build on that history and extend the country’s presence on the Olympic podium.
