Duathlon competitions were held for the first time on the southern coast of Alakol in the village of Akshi. Along with sports residents of the Almaty region, Arystanbek Mukhamediuly, Olympic champions and pop stars took part in the competition, NUR.KZ reports.

It was decided to call this duathlon simply and concisely - “Alakol-2017”; it included a 5-kilometer race, divided into two stages, and a 10-kilometer bike ride.

Minister of Culture and Sports Arystanbek Mukhamediuly admired the beauty of the Kazakh lake.

“The nature here is beautiful - amazing water and air. We should be proud that we have such a pearl - Lake Alakol. How can we not breathe deeply here and how can we deny ourselves the pleasure of exercising – from now on our duathlon will become an annual tradition. Thousands of Kazakhstanis come to Alakol every year - the concept of tourism development was recently approved, this will help raise our domestic tourism to a high level. Kazakh beauties need to be popularized,” the minister noted.

About 70 people took part in the Alakol duathlon - adults and children, ordinary villagers and stars of the Kazakhstan Olympics. The actor of the film “The Road to Mother” Adil Akhmetov and Kazakh composer Renat Gaisin flew to Alakol especially for the race. The director of the Astana Opera, Galym Akhmedyarov, also arrived.

The sports stars of this duathlon were champions Ermakhan Ibraimov, Adilbek Niyazymbetov and Daniyar Eleusinov - they helped the youngest participants run.

And now, the finish! Duathlon champions were awarded equipment, electronics and smartphones. Singers Zhenis Seidollauly and Mukasan Shakhzadayev congratulated the winners with their songs.

The winner in the age group of 16-29 years was Kudaibegen Zeinollaev, Kairat Shaimurdin - among participants 30-39 years old, 40-49 years old - Sabit Taimekenov.

Arystanbek Mukhamediuly really liked the level of the Alakol-2017 duathlon. He noted that such events not only popularize sports, but also attract tourists.

“I thank all the participants of our “Alakol-2017” - I am glad that we have so many sports Kazakhstanis. We are planning to hold a similar event, but on the other side of the lake - from the East Kazakhstan region. Kazakhstan’s tourism is developing - I would like to share the good news that on July 21, an airport will open in the city of Usharal near Alakol, this will significantly increase the flow of tourists,” the minister said.

He arrived at the duathlon together with the vice-ministers of the Ministry of Culture and Sports Saken Musaibekov and Askar Batalov.

After the event, they personally inspected construction sites on the Alakol shore - today there are a huge number of them, active construction of recreation areas and other infrastructure is underway on the coast.

Source: www.NUR.KZ