Ukraine's Junior Team Finishes Ninth in the 2025 Junior Worlds Biathlon Relay: The Ukrainians' Results
On the final lap, Oleksandr Bilanenko overtook the American.
The junior men's relay was the final race of the penultimate day of the 2025 Junior World Championships in biathlon in Östersund, Sweden. The Ukrainian team of Taras Tarasiuk, Dmytro Kryukov and Oleksandr Bilanenko finished ninth.
The day before, the girls raced their relay. That time, Valeriia Sheihas failed to hold second place, so the Ukrainian team finished fourth. And in the junior women's mass start a day earlier, Oleksandra Merkushyna claimed the first medal for Ukraine at JWCH 2025.
How the Junior Men's Biathlon Relay Went at JWCH 2025 in Östersund
- Taras Tarasiuk was the first of the Ukrainians to start. Wearing bib 16, he moved up to second at the first shooting stage, shooting clean and posting the second-fastest shooting time. At the standing stage, however, Tarasiuk used three spare rounds, though he hit all the targets.
- Dmytro Kryukov took over the relay in fifth, 47.3 seconds behind the leader. Using one spare round in the prone, the Ukrainian held fifth place. Kryukov cleared the standing stage in eight shots, but lost ground on the course, so he handed over the relay in eighth.
- Oleksandr Bilanenko was the third Ukrainian on the course. After picking up a penalty loop in the prone, the biathlete dropped to 11th, but had already reclaimed one position by the second shooting stage. On the final lap, Bilanenko overtook the American Erik Anderson, bringing the team up to ninth.
France won the junior men's relay, needing six spare rounds at the standing stages and beating Germany, who took silver, by 35.6 seconds. Czechia rounded out the top three.
Junior Men's Relay. 2025 Junior World Championships in Östersund: Results
- France (0+6) 1:02:04.1
- Germany (1+7) +35.6
- Czechia (3+6) +2:25.0
...
9. Ukraine (4+9) +3:38.8
On the last competition day of JWCH 2025, the older age category athletes will take to the start of the relay races. The junior women begin their race at 10:30, and the junior men at 16:00.
DeTalks covers the results of Ukrainian athletes at the 2025 Junior World Championships in biathlon in Östersund. Follow the text coverage in the "Pulse" section and the news on the Telegram channel of the editorial team.