The second day of the World Nomad Games saw a plethora of events taking place across Astana. TCA visited the Hippodrome and the Ethnoaul – home to numerous exhibits and competitions – where the excitement was palpable. A mélange of colors and sights filled the Ethnoaul arena, from traditional music and costumes to camels, Tazy dogs, and eagles. A deep sense of national pride and hospitality permeated proceedings, with visitors and athletes alike warmly greeted.
Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland
At the horseback wrestling, where a flag-waving home crowd whipped up a frenzy as competitors emerged in their flowing capes, TCA caught up with Leo Lambers and Aiden Slack from Team Australia, a doctor and a consultant originally from Melbourne, respectively.
“There are twelve athletes from Australia in total,” Lambers told TCA; “ten are participating in the archery, they’re all from Sydney, and there’s just us two doing the mas-wrestling. My brother came to Kyrgyzstan about six years ago, and he met some locals and did mas-wrestling for fun. When he came back, he challenged us to do it, and we’ve really loved it since then. We only do it socially – there’s no competitions we know of in Australia. So, we just do it with friends whenever we get the chance. We knew these Games were going to happen, so we thought we’d come. It’s actually our first competition, so it’s a pretty big jump for us.”
Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland
“We’ve never been to Central Asia before, so it’s a good opportunity for us to visit and experience more of the culture as well as completing,” Slack said. “We’re going to fly down to Almaty afterwards for a week and do some trekking as well, which will make it even more enjoyable. I competed today against two opponents, one from Pakistan and one from Kyrgyzstan, and hats off to them; they were very strong athletes. So, I’m out of the competition for now, but Leo’s competing tomorrow.”
“There are different weight categories. I was hoping to lose a few more kilos than I have and get down below 90 kilos, but I’m in the highest weight category, 105 kilos, and the world champion is in my category,” Lambers told TCA. “It’s down to the luck of the draw; there’s some really, really big people in there, but it’s amazing to even be here.”
Image: TCA, Stephen M. Bland
TCA asked if Australia has any medal hopefuls.
“We have high hopes for the Australian archers,” Slack said; “they’re a pretty good bet to at least get a medal. Hopefully, they can pull through for us.”
“The Games are probably more established than I thought they would be, but also more chaotic,” said Lambers. “There’s a lot of sports I’d never looked into it, there’s the scientific program, board games and intellectual games, as well as the physical sports. And the people are really, really proud of their culture. That’s the biggest thing, that everyone wants to share and talk about it all.”
“We’ve really noticed how friendly and open everyone is, how they want to take photos and engage with us in this amazing atmosphere,” Slack concluded. “So, it’s great to be part of it.”
Join us tomorrow for coverage from day three of the World Nomad Games.
