The Alatau ski and biathlon complex, located in the Soldatsky Gorge of the Talgar district of the Almaty region, hosted the Airborne Assault Troops Skiing Championship.
For two days, 40 military personnel consisting of eight teams from the Almaty, Konaevsky and Zhetysu garrisons competed in a patrol team race and relay race.
– Cross–country skiing with shooting is a spectacular military applied sport. It is an integral part of military personnel's combat training. A girl and three men of different age categories participated in each team," said the chief judge of the competition, Major Marat Agambayev. – The difference from the usual biathlon competitions is that military personnel walk the distance on army skis, which are 2-3 centimeters wider than classic sports skis.
On the first day of the patrol team race, none of the teams had to take penalty laps. At the same time, the paratroopers demonstrated good fire training.
Physical fitness, cohesion and mutual assistance are important here. After all, the finish time is marked at the end of the 10-kilometer distance by the last team member. And in the patrol relay race, each skier had to complete his 5-kilometer shooting distance.
Following the results of the competition, the team of the 37th brigade named after Hero of the Soviet Union Major General Ivan Panfilov (Taldykorgan) won gold. The skiers of the 35th Guards Airborne Assault Brigade (Konayev) were awarded silver, and the 38th Airborne Assault Brigade named after Rayymbek Batyr was awarded bronze.
– The track is quite difficult and rugged, but very beautiful and interesting. We have been preparing hard for the competition for more than a month, knowing that we should not underestimate our rivals," said Junior Sergeant Elena Kulneva, the winner of the competition.
According to tradition, medals, diplomas and memorable prizes were awarded to the champions and prize-winners.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/mod/press/news/details/918904