Biathlon: Dmytro Pidruchnyi and Vitalii Mandzyn in the mass start
At the 2026 Winter Olympics, the Ukrainian biathlon delegation is moving forward with a twofold objective: to perform on the Italian snow and to carry a message that goes beyond sport. With preparations disrupted by the war, every start, every shot and every relay takes on a special dimension. The ambitions remain sporting – to get closer to the best nations, to grab top 10 places – but the stakes are also symbolic.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, more than 650 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed since the start of the Russian aggression, while more than 800 sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged. Biathlete Vitalii Mandzyn immediately expressed his support: “When I was asked to record a video in support of him, I accepted straight away. Writing in the Tribuna sports newspaper, he praised “a strong man” who had “defended his position to the end”.
His team-mate Dmytro Pidruchnyi feels the same anger and injustice. “Of course the whole Ukrainian team supports Vlada. Because I think that the Olympics were created to talk about the non-acceptance of war and to remember the victims of war “. In his opinion, his compatriot’s initiative was a message against war. ” We fully support this gesture,” he adds, before concluding: “He has on his helmet those who were killed during the war and the aggression against our country. So, of course, the whole team supports Vlada.
It was in this charged atmosphere that the Ukrainian biathletes began their Olympic programme, determined to respond on the sporting stage.
On the track, the mixed relay kicked off the fortnight with an encouraging 8th place.
In the men’s individual, Dmytro Pidruchnyi finished 18th, while Vitalii Mandzyn took 28th place, penalised by four faults. ” For a race like this, four mistakes are too many “, he admitted to Tribuna, regretting that he had broken his rhythm in the final shots. Anton Dudchenko (35th) and Taras Lesiuk (65th) completed the field.
In the girls’ event, the Ukrainians put in some courageous performances, but failed to make it into the fight for a place in the top 10. Yuliia Dzhima was the country’s best representative with 53rd place, penalised by several shooting errors in a format where each mistake costs a minute. Behind her, Daryna Chalyk finished 61st, while Oleksandra Merkushyna and Khrystyna Dmytrenko also suffered in the face of the crowded field.
The sprint confirmed the internal hierarchy: Mandzyn 24th and Pidruchnyi 27th qualified for the pursuit. “Overall, the race wasn’t bad, but I lost too much time in the shooting. I didn’t manage to work as fast as I wanted. On the track, I was doing pretty well, but today a lot depended on the shot,” commented the first-timer in the Ukrainian media. Anton Dudchenko, 88th out of 90, admitted: “I’m obviously not happy with this result. Two mistakes are too many to hope for anything. In a race like this, every mistake is very costly. This frank assessment illustrates the harshness of the sprint format, where the slightest approximation is immediately reflected in the rankings.
In the men’s pursuit, Dmytro Pidruchnyi finished 33rd and Vitalii Mandzyn 42nd, the latter citing “room for improvement” on his skis despite the conditions being considered ideal.
In the women’s race, Yuliia Dzhima, Oleksandra Merkushyna and Khrystyna Dmytrenko first competed in the sprint, but failed to crack the top 40. The pursuit was just as demanding: Dzhima and Dmytrenko finished beyond 40th place after several shooting errors, unable to move up in a very dense field. These results deprived Ukraine of qualification in the women’s mass-start, a first since the event was introduced at the Games.
The men’s relay, which finished in 16th place, illustrated the group’s fighting spirit. Vitalii Mandzyn said he was “pretty good” physically, solid on the climbs against the Estonians and Latvians, even if the descents cost him some ground.
Vitalii Mandzyn and Dmytro Pidruchnyi qualified for the mass start, the final event of a fortnight in which Ukraine combined sporting commitment with symbolic significance.
