Kyrylo Azarov, 2025 Junior European Diving Champion: How He Did It
The gold medal helped Ukraine hold onto third place in the overall standings.
17-year-old Ukrainian diver Kyrylo Azarov won the Junior European Championships for the fifth time in his career — taking gold in the 1m springboard event for Category A athletes (ages 16-18). The tournament runs June 23-29 at the Olympic Aquatic Centre in Athens.
Kyrylo's performance on the 1m springboard marked his second event at this year's continental championship — the Kyiv native had earlier taken part in the mixed team event, where Ukraine finished fourth.
Earlier, the national team had also won three medals at the European Championships, including the first gold — claimed by the duo of Nazarii Kononenko and Valerii Malieiev in the 10m synchronized event.
How Kyrylo Azarov Brought Ukraine Its Second Gold at the 2025 Junior European Diving Championships
- In qualifying, held at the start of the third competition day of the championships, Kyrylo and his teammate — Maksym Mirza — each performed 10 dives. With scores of 481.40 and 444.45 points, the athletes finished provisionally in first and sixth place, respectively.
- In the final, the divers each performed five dives, with degrees of difficulty ranging from 3.0 to 3.2. Azarov took the lead after his very first dive and held it to the end — his final score of 522.70 was the best of the final. Maksym Mirza, meanwhile, moved up to fifth place after his first dive but finished the final in sixth, with 430.95 points.
- As a result, Ukraine won its second gold medal at the 2025 Junior European Diving Championships. The same competition day also featured the girls' Category A 10m platform event. There, Diana Shevchenko finished fourth with 372.35 points, one step short of the podium, while Sofiia Vystavkina finished seventh with 360.40 points.
Thanks to Azarov's gold medal, Ukraine held onto third place in the overall medal table at the 2025 Junior European Diving Championships. Ahead of Ukraine are still Team Germany and the 'Neutral Athletes,' who swapped positions after the third competition day.
2025 Junior European Diving Championships Medal Table. Day 3
- 'Neutral Athletes' — 4 medals (3+1+0)
- Germany — 6 (2+2+2)
- Ukraine — 4 (2+1+1)
Team Ukraine's competition at the 2025 Junior European Championships continues on Thursday, June 26. The session opens with the Category B girls' 1m springboard — at 9:30, the national team will be represented by Yelyzaveta Diadiuk.