A graduate who trained with Zhelayak Kosanov

In the 1970s, Toktarhan Tezekbaev, who studied at the S.M. Kirov Kazakh State University and was a five-time university champion in athletics and a three-time champion of Almaty, brought great honor to his alma mater by proudly waving its flag. At one point, he visited our editorial office in Almaty from the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk to congratulate the university's leadership, scholars, teachers, and students on the 90th anniversary of the university through their own newspaper.

-I am proud of any achievements of the university I graduated from. Al-Farabi Kazakh National University has always been at the forefront in providing quality education, training highly qualified specialists, and conducting scientific research in the field of education. I sincerely congratulate the entire team of KazNU on the 90th anniversary and wish the professors and teachers great success and scientific achievements in their work of providing quality education and upbringing to the responsible students!" says Tokhtarkhan Tezekbaev, a graduate of the university and a pensioner.

Tokhtarkhan studied at the Faculty of History from 1972 to 1979, majoring in ethnography. From a young age, he was inclined to sports and was unbeatable in athletics at the district level. During that time, he was trained for professional athletics by the "Burevestnik" student sports society. In 1975, he participated in the USSR Universiade, and in 1976, in the Central Asian and Kazakhstan championships, winning prize places. For his achievements in sports, he was awarded the Honorary Diploma of the Central Committee of the Komsomol of Kazakhstan, several certificates from the university Komsomol committee, and a letter of appreciation from KazMU rector, O.Zholdasbekov. During his university years, he was known as the "Zhelayak"

-Many strong athletes have emerged from our university",- recalls Tokhtarkhan Tezekbaev. -I ran distances of 400, 800, and 1500 meters. We were trained by the renowned coach of Kazakhstan's athletics, Gennady Dorofeevich Ivanov. On the university team, I trained alongside Vladimir Volkov, Fazyl Kaliev, Vladimir Bogdanchikov, Sergey Taranenko, the legendary Kazakh sprinter and Olympic silver medalist Gusman Kosanov, and received their guidance. We also prepared for major competitions while relaxing on the shores of Issyk-Kul. Representing KazMU, we often competed in student competitions across the USSR. As part of the university team, I participated in student games in cities like Tashkent, Tbilisi, Donetsk, and Vinnytsia. During those years, I achieved the title of 'Candidate for Master of Sports of the USSR'. Even now, at the age of seventy, I still participate in city competitions and earn prize-winning places. I consider this to be one of the experiences I gained during my student life. My advice to students is that sports is a vast world, a guarantee of health, so you should always make time for it and commit to it passionately in your youth.

Kayirzhan TOREZHAN.