From 6 to 22 February 2026, Italy will host the XXV Winter Olympic Games. The main host cities will be Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo. The decision to award the Games to these cities was made on 24 June 2019 at the 134th Session of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland.

For Italy, the upcoming Games will be the fourth in its history, while Milan will host the Winter Olympics for the first time. Cortina d’Ampezzo, in turn, already has Olympic experience — it was here that the VII Winter Olympic Games were held in 1956.

As part of the national team of the Republic of Kazakhstan at the 2026 Olympic Games, the country will also be represented by National Guard servicemen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan — military personnel who successfully combine military service with performances at the highest level of international sport.

Yuliya Galysheva: Experience and Olympic Legacy

One of the leaders of the national team is Senior Sports Instructor of the Sports Team Training Center of the National Guard, Senior Lieutenant Yuliya Galysheva — one of the most decorated athletes in the country in the freestyle moguls discipline.

In 2017, she won gold at the Winter Universiade in Almaty and also claimed gold and silver medals at the Winter Asian Games in Sapporo. In December of the same year, Galysheva performed successfully at World Cup stages, winning silver and gold medals in China.

A special place in her career is held by the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang, where Yuliya Galysheva won a bronze medal in moguls. This achievement became Kazakhstan’s first-ever Olympic medal in freestyle skiing. In 2019, she confirmed her high status by becoming a world champion in Park City, USA, and a medalist at World Cup stages.

Abzal Azhgaliev: Consistency and Speed on Ice

In short track speed skating events, Kazakhstan will be represented by Senior Sports Instructor of the Sports Team Training Center of the National Guard, Corporal Abzal Azhgaliev.

In 2025, he became the Asian Games champion in the men’s 5,000-meter team relay and a silver medalist in the mixed relay. Earlier, in 2022, Azhgaliev won silver medals at World Cup stages in Montreal and Salt Lake City, demonstrating a high level of preparation on the international stage.

The Young Generation of the Olympic Team

Among the representatives of the National Guard are promising athletes of the new generation. Private Ilya Mizernykh, a soldier (rifleman) of Military Unit 5571, is a Kazakh ski jumper and the first-ever champion of the Winter Youth Olympic Games in the history of the country. By the time of the 2026 Olympics, he approaches the Games as one of the key athletes of the national team at the senior Olympic level.

Another representative of Kazakhstan’s ski jumping school is Senior Specialist — Senior Instructor for Physical Training and Sports of the Sports Team Training Center of the National Guard, Private Danil Vasilyev. Over recent seasons, he has established himself as one of the most promising athletes in the country.

In 2024–2025, Vasilyev became the first Kazakhstani athlete to win a stage of the FIS Cup, as well as a medalist at stages of the Summer Grand Prix and the FIS Cup. He also performed successfully in the prestigious Four Hills Tournament and, thanks to consistent results and accumulated FIS points, secured qualification for the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo.

It should be noted that the participation of law-enforcement servicemen in the XXV Winter Olympic Games is a vivid example of how military service, discipline, and professional sport complement one another. These athletes not only uphold the honor of the country on international arenas, but also serve as role models of determination, strength of spirit, and patriotism for the younger generation.

Press Service of the National Guard

Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kvv/press/news/details/1155153?lang=kk