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Author: Viktoriia Hvozd

Three Ukrainians Make the Scoring Zone in the Third Junior IBU Cup Stage Sprint: How It Happened

Three Ukrainians Make the Scoring Zone in the Third Junior IBU Cup Stage Sprint: How It Happened
Oleksandr Bilanenko. Photo: National Olympic Committee of Ukraine

Taras Tarasiuk finished 15th.

The third Junior IBU Cup stage in Madona, Latvia, opened with the boys' sprint. Ukraine was represented in the race by Oleksandr Bilanenko, Taras Tarasiuk, Dmytro Kriukov, Ivan Steblyna, Kyrylo Kulchytskyi, Bohdan Bohach, and newcomer Zakhar Kykot.

Following the sprint, three Ukrainians made the top 40, with Taras Tarasiuk posting the 15th-best result.

Earlier, at the second stage in Val Martello, the men's team took sixth place in the relay. That result put the national team in the Nations Cup standings' top five after the season's first two stages.

How Team Ukraine's Junior Men Ran the Sprint at the Third Junior IBU Cup Stage of 2025/26

  • Oleksandr Bilanenko started with bib number one. The Ukrainian missed twice at the first firing range and once more at standing. Trailing the leader by 2:10.8 minutes, Bilanenko finished 25th.
  • Taras Tarasiuk started the sprint second among the Ukrainians. With one miss at standing, the biathlete finished the race 15th — the best result among the Ukrainians.
  • Dmytro Kriukov missed three times overall and finished 27th, while his teammate Ivan Steblyna, with five misses, finished 41st.
  • Kyrylo Kulchytskyi took the course under bib number 53. The Ukrainian missed twice across the stages, but trailed the sprint leader by 3:25.3 minutes, finishing 44th.
  • Bohdan Bohach missed once and finished the sprint 52nd, while Zakhar Kykot, the Cup newcomer, missed four times and finished 60th.

Junior IBU Cup Stage in Madona. Sprint, 10 km, Boys: Results

1. Thomas Marchl, Austria (0+0) 25:37.9

2. Rui Grosel Šimić, Slovenia (0+1) +35.7

3. Matthias Schennegger, Austria (1+1) +47.8

...

15. Taras Tarasiuk, Ukraine (0+1) +1:46.3

25. Oleksandr Bilanenko, Ukraine (2+1) +2:10.8

27. Dmytro Kriukov, Ukraine (1+2) +2:21.9

41. Ivan Steblyna, Ukraine (1+4) +3:15.5

44. Kyrylo Kulchytskyi, Ukraine (1+1) +3:25.3

52. Bohdan Bohach, Ukraine (0+1) +4:23.9

60. Zakhar Kykot, Ukraine (2+2) +5:24.3

The Madona Junior IBU Cup stage's next race is the women's 7.5 km sprint, taking place January 14 at 14:20 Kyiv time.

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.

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