Bilanenko Reaches the 2026 Junior European Sprint Flower Ceremony, Ukraine Leads the Medal Table
One competition day remains at the 2026 Junior European Championships.
Ukraine's Oleksandr Bilanenko finished sixth in the sprint at the Junior European Biathlon Championships in Imatra, Finland, making the flower ceremony. The rest of the national team's athletes fell outside the top 20.
Earlier at the 2026 Junior Europeans, Tetiana and Taras Tarasiuk won gold in the single mixed relay, and in the mixed relay, Team Ukraine took third place.
How Team Ukraine Performed in the Boys' Sprint at the 2026 Junior European Championships in Imatra
- Taras Tarasiuk took the course with bib number one. The Ukrainian missed once at the prone stage but shot clean at the second firing range. Tarasiuk finished 21st, 1:47.3 minutes behind the winner, the Czech Republic's Vladimír Kochmánek.
- Dmytro Kriukov started third overall and second among the Ukrainians. The biathlete missed once each at the prone and standing stages, finishing the sprint 36th.
- Ivan Steblyna started the race with bib number 54. The Ukrainian missed twice at the prone stage and three times at standing, dropping him to 54th place overall.
- Oleksandr Bilanenko, who started 59th, shot clean at both stages, finishing 6th — the athlete's best result yet at the junior continental championship level.
- Ukraine's Kyrylo Kulchytskyi also shot clean at the prone stage. He missed three times at standing, though, finishing 77th.
- Zakhar Kukot and Bohdan Bohach started near the back of the pack. Zakhar missed once at the prone stage and three times at standing. Bohdan, meanwhile, shot clean at the prone stage but missed once at standing. The two biathletes finished 66th and 79th, respectively.
As a result, the best-placed Ukrainian was Oleksandr Bilanenko, who made the top six and the flower ceremony. Ahead of the 2026 Junior Europeans' final competition day, Ukraine sat in fourth place in the championship's medal table.
European Biathlon Championships Sprint in Imatra, Junior Men, 10 km: Results
1. Vladimír Kochmánek, Czech Republic (0+0) 25:14.3
2. Martin Matko, Slovakia (0+1) +12.2
3. David Elias, Czech Republic (1+1) +39.1
…
6. Oleksandr Bilanenko, Ukraine (0+0) +1:06.3
21. Taras Tarasiuk, Ukraine (1+0) +1:47.3
36. Dmytro Kriukov, Ukraine (1+1) +2:20.6
54. Ivan Steblyna, Ukraine (2+3) +3:20.2
66. Zakhar Kukot, Ukraine (1+3) +3:42.9
77. Kyrylo Kulchytskyi, Ukraine (0+3) +4:35.9
79. Bohdan Bohach, Ukraine (0+1) +4:45.4
2026 Junior European Biathlon Championships Medal Table After January 24
- Czech Republic (1 gold + 0 silver + 1 bronze)
- Sweden — (2+0+0)
- Slovenia — (1+1+0)
- Ukraine — (1+0+1)
The 2026 Junior European Championships' final races will be the Mass Start 60. The junior women go first, on January 25 at 10:30 Kyiv time.
DeTalks is covering Ukrainian athletes' results at the 2026 Junior European Biathlon Championships. Follow text coverage in the 'Pulse' section and news on the editorial team's Telegram-channel.