Ahead of the World Aquatics Swimming World Cup Astana 2026, decorated swimmers took part in an unusual masterclass organized by the Barys hockey club. Olympic champions, Olympic medalists and world championship winners stepped onto the ice, infohub.kz reports.
Among the participants were China's Yu Yiting and Qin Haiyang, Belgium's Roos Vanotterdijk, Dutch swimmers Marrit Steenbergen and Caspar Corbeau, Hong Kong's Siobhan Haughey, Americans Shane Casas and Carson Foster, and Australia's Cameron McEvoy.
Barys Astana players Dinmukhamed Kaiyrzhan, Kirill Panyukov and Batyrlan Muratov, along with representatives of the club's youth team, helped the athletes learn the basics of hockey.
After a briefing, the swimmers took to the ice, where they learned to skate, hold a stick properly, handle the puck and take faceoffs. For most participants, the masterclass was a chance to try hockey for the first time.
Australian Olympic champion Cameron McEvoy admitted he had last skated as a child.
"I've only tried skating once — as a kid, when I was ten years old. As you can imagine, there isn't much ice and snow in Australia, so it's a completely unfamiliar experience for me. I wanted to challenge myself, though honestly, I didn't manage to pull it off! But it was a lot of fun. Now I have enormous respect for hockey players and everyone who does winter sports. It's really not easy," McEvoy said.
Recall that from October 15 to 17, Astana will host a World Cup swimming stop for the first time. The competitions will take place at Barys Arena and will be the final part of the Silk Road Tour series after tournaments in Baku and Tashkent.