Ukraine Wraps Up Its Most Successful Junior European Biathlon Championships Ever
The junior team finished in the top three of the medal table.
Team Ukraine's junior biathlon squad has wrapped up the 2026 European Championships — the closing race in Imatra was the men's Mass Start 60, featuring five Ukrainian athletes.
Over the four days of the European Championships, Ukraine won three medals. On the final day, Tetiana Tarasiuk claimed silver in the mass start, and earlier, the national team had already won two medals in the mixed relays — the classic and single formats.
As a result, Team Ukraine had its most successful Junior European Biathlon Championships in history. Before this, the 'yellow-and-blues' had only once made the top three of the medal table (2020), and their best previous haul was two medals — silver and bronze (2018).
How the Boys' Mass Start 60 Went at the 2026 Junior European Championships
- Two Ukrainians shot cleanly at the first stage — Bilanenko and Kriukov both finished within 20 seconds of the leader. The rest of the 'yellow-and-blues' missed twice, ending up right at the edge of the qualifying zone.
- Bilanenko also missed once at the second stage, but held his position among the leaders — at the race's midpoint, he sat in the top 10, 35 seconds behind first place. Kriukov, meanwhile, missed twice, falling outside the top 20.
- After the second prone stage, Tarasiuk, Kriukov, and Bilanenko emerged together in the top 20. The athletes entered the final firing range 50 seconds behind the leader.
- All three Ukrainians missed one target each at the final standing stage. The three finished close together too, in 16th through 18th place. Tarasiuk placed highest, trailing the leader by 57 seconds.
2026 Junior European Biathlon Championships in Imatra, Mass Start 60, Junior Men, 12 km: Results
1. Michael Malek, Czech Republic (0+0+0+0) 32:13.2
2. Thomas Marchl, Austria (0+0+1+0) +13.4
3. Jakub Potoniec, Poland (1+0+0+0) +14.1
…
16. Taras Tarasiuk, Ukraine (2+0+1+1) +57.5
17. Oleksandr Bilanenko, Ukraine (0+1+2+1) +1:01.9
18. Dmytro Kriukov, Ukraine (0+1+0+1) +1:10.7
35. Zakhar Kukot, Ukraine (2+0+0+2) +2:30.5
54. Ivan Steblyna, Ukraine (2+1+3+2) +3:44.8
As a result, the Junior European Biathlon Championships in Imatra brought Team Ukraine three medals overall — one of each kind. That let the national team finish in the top three of the championship's medal table.
2026 Junior European Biathlon Championships: Final Medal Table
1. Czech Republic (3 gold + 0 silver + 1 bronze)
2. Sweden (2+0+1)
3. Ukraine (1+1+1)
The junior biathletes' next event will be the World Championships, starting alongside the Youth World Championships on February 28 in Arber.
DeTalks is covering Ukrainian athletes' results throughout the 2026 biathlon season. Follow text coverage in the 'Pulse' section and news on the editorial team's Telegram.