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Author: Andrii Nikitonok

The 2025/26 Junior IBU Cup Biathlon Season Is Underway: Men's Sprint Results

The 2025/26 Junior IBU Cup Biathlon Season Is Underway: Men's Sprint Results
Taras Tarasiuk. Photo: IBU

Taras Tarasiuk made the flower ceremony in the season's very first race.

The first stage of the 2025/26 Junior IBU Cup has begun in Goms, Switzerland. The season's opening race was the men's sprint, held December 11.

In total, the 2025/26 junior season consists of three Junior IBU Cup stages — in Goms (December 11–14), Val Martello (December 18–21), and Madona (January 14–17) — plus the European Championships in Imatra (January 21–25) and the World Championships in Arber (February 28–March 8).

The opening Goms stage will feature two sprints each for junior men and women, plus Mass Start 60 races. Team Ukraine's lineup for the first men's race included Ivan Steblyna, Dmytro Kriukov, Oleksandr Bilanenko, Taras Tarasiuk, Kyrylo Kulchytskyi, Kostiantyn Martseniuk, and Bohdan Bohach.

How the 2025/26 Season's First Sprint Went for Team Ukraine's Junior Biathlon Squad

  • Ivan Steblyna and Dmytro Kriukov were the first Ukrainians on the course. Dmytro missed once at each firing stage. Ivan, meanwhile, shot the first stage clean but couldn't hit a single target at the second.
  • Oleksandr Bilanenko also ran into trouble at standing — adding four more misses to the one he picked up at the prone stage.
  • Kyrylo Kulchytskyi also missed at the first firing stage. The athlete shot the next five targets clean, but lost more than three minutes to the leader in skiing speed.
  • Kostiantyn Martseniuk faced a similar shooting struggle — the biathlete missed once at each approach to the range, ultimately trailing sprint winner Matija Legović of Croatia by more than four minutes.
  • The best-placed Ukrainian was Taras Tarasiuk — the athlete lost 1:11.1 minutes to the race leader in skiing but didn't miss a single target, ultimately finishing sixth.
  • Beyond him, national team newcomer Bohdan Bohach also shot both firing stages clean. But the athlete also lost more than 3:50 minutes in skiing, ultimately finishing outside the top 50.

As a result, Taras Tarasiuk made the flower ceremony in the season's very first race. It was won by Croatia's Matija Legović, with second and third place shared by French biathletes Léo Carlier and Antoine Delsol.

Junior IBU Cup Stage in Goms. Sprint, 10 km, Junior Men: Results

1. Matija Legović, Croatia (0+0) 22:32.1

2. Léo Carlier, France (0+0) +12.7

3. Antoine Delsol, France (1+1) +47.7

...

6. Taras Tarasiuk, Ukraine (0+0) +1:11.1

21. Dmytro Kriukov, Ukraine (1+1) +2:15.1

45. Kyrylo Kulchytskyi, Ukraine (1+0) +3.21.4

48. Oleksandr Bilanenko, Ukraine (1+4) +3:30.8

52. Bohdan Bohach, Ukraine (0+0) +3:50.6

55. Ivan Steblyna, Ukraine (0+5) +3:53.4

59. Kostiantyn Martseniuk, Ukraine (2+3) +4:01.0

The next race of the Junior IBU Cup stage in Goms takes place December 11 at 15:20, featuring the girls' sprint, with Valeriia Sheihas, Kseniia Prykhodko, Polina Putsko, Alina Khmil, Viktoriia Khvostenko, Tetiana Tarasiuk, and Iryna Shevchenko on the start line.

DeTalks is covering Ukrainian athletes' results throughout the 2025/26 Junior IBU Cup season. Follow text coverage in the 'Pulse' section and news on the Telegram channel of the editorial team.

#Biathlon#Junior IBU Cup