Pulse #Skeleton
Author: Andrii Nikitonok

Lavreniuk and Heraskevych Compete in Their First European Cup Skeleton Stages of the Season: The Ukrainians' Results

Lavreniuk and Heraskevych Compete in Their First European Cup Skeleton Stages of the Season: The Ukrainians' Results
Vladyslav Heraskevych. Photo: Andrew P. Scott/USA Today Sports

Altenberg hosted two European Cup stages at once.

Ukrainian skeleton athletes Vladyslav Heraskevych and Yaroslav Lavreniuk continued their fight for 2026 Olympic Games licenses with two European Cup stages in Altenberg. Following the World Cup stage in Cortina d'Ampezzo and the competition in Innsbruck, which was canceled due to track conditions, the German starts ran over two days — December 4 and 5.

Skeleton qualification for the 2026 Games runs through January 18, 2026. Among men, 25 quota spots are awarded based on results from the World Cup, European Cup, North American Cup, and Asian Cup stages.

How Ukraine's Skeleton Athletes Performed at the 2025/26 European Cup Stages in Altenberg

The season's first European Cup stages, hosted by Lillehammer, Norway, were skipped by Lavreniuk and Heraskevych. Ukraine was represented instead by 16-year-old Vladyslav Klymenko, 15-year-old Leonid Tkachuk, and 14-year-old Anton Kovalchuk.

  • At the first of the two European Cup stages in Altenberg, three Ukrainians finished the second run — Heraskevych placed eighth, Lavreniuk 11th, and Klymenko 16th, posting the best result of his season.
  • The second competition day proved more successful for the national team's leader, Heraskevych — Vladyslav posted the fastest time of the four runs, 56.14 seconds, on his first attempt, finishing fourth overall. Lavreniuk and Klymenko also made the second run — finishing 13th and 20th, respectively.

Team Ukraine's Total Points at the European Cup Stage in Altenberg

  • Vladyslav Heraskevych: 8th place + 4th place = 154 points
  • Yaroslav Lavreniuk: 11 + 13 = 84 points
  • Vladyslav Klymenko: 16 + 20 = 49 points
  • Leonid Tkachuk: 30 + 31 = 21 points
  • Anton Kovalchuk: 34 + 36 = 12 points

The Ukrainians' next competition on the road to the 2026 Olympics is the World Cup stage in Lillehammer, Norway, starting December 12.

Watch DeTalks' full interview with Team Ukraine skeleton athlete Yaroslav Lavreniuk here.

#Skeleton#Yaroslav Lavreniuk