Vladimir Smirnov. Kazakhstan’s first Olympic gold medal

In 1994, 29 Kazakh athletes represented the country in the Norwegian Lillehammer. But only Vladimir Smirnov’s performance, who was one of the strongest skiers in the world in the 1980s-1990s, resulted in a triumph. Before that iconic race, he had already won 2 medals there: for 10 km classic style and 15 km freestyle races. At that moment, he was facing the most difficult part - the 50 kilometres race. And although Vladimir Smirnov had not previously shown high results at that distance, he was the first to cross the finish line. You will learn more about all this in the new Flashback release.