New medal winners emerged during the second competition day at the 2017 Universiade

Almaty. 31 January. Kazakhstan Today - The award ceremony at the Medal Plaza was held on 31 January for medal winners of the second competition day at the 28th World Winter Universiade in Almaty. Medals which were made of a metal alloy imitating gold, silver and bronze in a classical style were awarded to the heroes of today. AlmatyИs mayor, Bauyrzhan Baybek, took part in the award ceremony.

The medals for the 2017 Games were made with colored enamel at the Kazakh Mint. The logos of the Universiade and FISU as well as the name of the games and their location are featured on the ribbons attached to these medals.

- I am happy that I became a medalist because the race was challenging. I love the design of the medal. It is so beautiful, heavy and very precious. I worked really hard to win all my medals and I value all of them equally, - Ukrainian biathlete Nadezhda Belkina said, who is the bronze medal winner of the 2017 Universiade.

The cultural program which was held earlier that day was entitled ИExpanding HorizonsИ. Another program entitled ИFrom the Cradle to the FutureИ introduced visitors to the authentic culture of the Kazakh people and consisted of dancing, singing and other creative arts.

Saltanat, a folk dance ensemble, performed a multiethnic choreographic routine, where each dancer was dressed in a national costume of one of the nations participating in the 2017-Universiade.

The hosts of the award ceremony proceeded to tell spectators about the culture and achievements of all participating nations at the Games and also about one of the 12 disciplines in which student athletes were competing that day. A dozen of the best dancers from ИBeelei KazakhstanИ TV Show performed a choreographic routine about alpine skiing. When the piste was shown on the screen, the dancers in costumes and on skis imitated a downhill race and then synchronically moved on to dancing and were greeted by thunderous applause.

During the interval air balloons were let go into the sky symbolizing a Wish Tree on which, throughout the day, visitors wrote their wishes and cherished dreams on special ribbons. Meanwhile in a warm pavilion a criminal drama ИDistrictsИ directed by Kazakh director Akan Satayev was screened .

Newly arrived guests were entertained by a band, Ayumi. A trio of young talented women performed their groovy hit songs.

The award ceremony of the second day was attended by about 2,000 people. Alan, the head of the Akhmetov family, shared his impressions about the concert.

- I really enjoyed it. It was nice to see so many performances of all kinds, - he said.- The most important thing is that they symbolize sport, youth and an active lifestyle. Five Kazakh athletes were awarded today. No bad weather would have prevented us from coming here to congratulate our medal winners. Go, Kazakhstan!

Source: Almaty 2017 Winter Universiade Oganizing Directorate

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