Kazakhstan makes decent start at 2024 Summer Olympics

Kazakh judoka Yeldos Smetov clinched the gold medal at the Paris Olympics 2024. In the men’s final, he faced France’s Luka Mkheidze in the weight category up to 60 kilograms. This was Smetov’s third consecutive Olympics, previously taking silver in Rio de Janeiro and bronze in Tokyo. According to the athlete, he traveled to the French capital to complete his Olympic collection with the gold. His family fully supported this determination.

«This is a great joy for us! He’s been dreaming about this for a long time! He’s got bronze and silver medals, and now he also has a gold one,» said Baktybai Smetov, Yeldos Smetov’s father.

The Kazakh Embassy in France hosted a celebration for the Olympic champion’s victory and unveiled a media center for the Kazakh national team. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev congratulated Smetov on his gold medal win, highlighting the widespread admiration for the athlete throughout the country.

«I congratulate our judoka Yeldos Smetov on winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games in Paris! Thanks to his skill and strength of spirit, the flag of Kazakhstan is flying high. Yeldos became the best in the world in the struggle with the strongest rivals, having won the main competitions of four years. The whole country admires you. Your victory is a victory for our entire nation!» said the Kazakh President. 

It bears noting that Kazakh judoka Gusman Kyrgyzbayev, as well as the country’s pair in the rifle competition Alexandra Le and Islam Satpayev won two bronze medals.