Two weeks before setting off for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics to compete as Kyrgyzstan’s only alpine skier, Timur Shakirov was weaving down a slalom course in his homeland.<\/p>\n
Despite being one of the world’s most mountainous countries, a lack of infrastructure, poor financing, tricky snow conditions and a sporting culture of traditional nomadic games mean few locals from the Central Asian state have emerged onto the international skiing scene.<\/p>\n
“It is hard to train in Kyrgyzstan as we don’t have the right conditions and financing,” the 19-year-old told AFP from the mountainside in the Ala-Archa National Park, just south of the capital Bishkek.<\/p>\n
The surrounding Tian Shan and Pamir mountain ranges — where peaks reach as high as 7,500 metres (24,600 feet) — were hosting a regional competition for athletes from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. \u00a0<\/p>\n
In Milan, he will compete in the Giant Slalom on February 14 and Slalom event two days later — adding his name to the 20-odd alpine skiers from Central Asia who have competed at the Winter Olympics since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
– ‘Too warm’ –\u00a0<\/p>\n
“It is a fairly expensive sport. So the idea that mountainous Kyrgyzstan could easily develop alpine skiing is false,” said Yulia Tenkova from the Kyrgyz Ski Federation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Conditions are also tricky. The snowpack is too soft, meaning bumps emerge on courses too fast after multiple rides.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“To gain proficiency in alpine skiing, you need a totally different snow cover,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Our climate is too warm and (skiing) is a luxury.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
Average temperatures in Central Asia have risen by about 1.5C since 1991, twice the global average, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a UN climate agency.<\/p>\n
While some resorts have turned to snow cannons, solutions are pricey.<\/p>\n
This forces Central Asian skiers to train thousands of miles away from home.<\/p>\n
“We train mainly in Italy, Austria,” said Shakirov, who admires European skiing pros as Marcel Hirscher, Henrik Kristoffersen and Marco Odermatt.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The time in Europe has helped the sport’s development at home, he noted.<\/p>\n
Kyrgyzstan’s Maxim Gordeev, who competed in the 2022 Beijing Olympics, “brought back new methods from Europe and showed me how to train”, said Shakirov.<\/p>\n
But on the whole, Shakirov regrets low government investment and a dearth of world-class courses that could really boost the sport at home.\u00a0<\/p>\n
– Money problem –\u00a0<\/p>\n
The money to pay for professional and aspiring athletes to train abroad is also in short supply.<\/p>\n
“Sometimes plane tickets are so expensive that we have to find funding,” said Tenkova from the national ski federation.<\/p>\n
“But sponsors are reluctant, because we’re not as visible. Unlike wrestlers.”<\/p>\n
Success in wrestling has delivered a string of Olympic medals for Central Asian nations, leaving other more expensive sports to feel they have been crowded out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Even in the richest and most successful skiing nation in the region, Kazakhstan, there are not enough well-equipped slopes.<\/p>\n
“Alpine skiing is only developed in two regions,” said skier Mariya Grigorova, who competed for Kazakhstan at the 2018\u00a0Olympics in South Korea.<\/p>\n
Now a coach, she said Kazakhstan at one point wanted to end support for its alpine skiing program altogether because “the results weren’t good enough”.<\/p>\n
“In recent years, we trained thanks to personal funds. We even made it to the top 30, top 20. But, as a rule, what result are they always expecting? First, second, third place. That’s all,” she said.<\/p>\n
For skiers from Tajikistan — none of whom qualified for the Olympics — participating in the Central Asian Cup is already a win.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ambitions are high.<\/p>\n
Tajik coach Saidakbar Eshonov said he wanted to “take skiing in Tajikistan to a high level, like wrestling”.<\/p>\n
He hopes easing geopolitical rivalries could boost the sport.<\/p>\n
Tajik and Kyrgyz athletes for years would not even congratulate each other at competitions, as their countries were locked in a long border dispute.<\/p>\n
But having signed a final accord last year to resolve the issue, Eshonov was betting on closer cooperation helping lift chances across the entire region.<\/p>\n
“We will try to collaborate with coaches from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to bring skiing to the top,” he said.<\/p>\n
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