Oleksandra Merkushyna Brings Ukraine Its Third Medal at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships: How It Happened

Ukraine won three medals in the first four races of the 2026 Junior World Championships.

Ukrainian biathlete Oleksandra Merkushyna became world vice-champion in the junior women's individual race. The 12.5 km race took place on the March 1 competition day in Arber, Germany, where, besides Merkushyna, Tetiana Tarasiuk, Kseniia Prykhodko, and Valeriia Sheihas also competed.

Ukraine had already won two World Championship medals earlier — silver in the youth men's individual race went to Taras Tarasiuk, while Viktoriia Khvostenko took bronze in the equivalent youth women's race.

DeTalks is covering Ukrainian athletes' results at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships. Follow the editorial team's Telegram channel to stay on top of the latest news.

How the Junior Women's Individual Race Went for Team Ukraine at the Junior World Championships in Biathlon

• The first Ukrainian on the course was 2026 Olympic debutant Oleksandra Merkushyna. The athlete opened with a miss at the prone stage, but shot clean the rest of the way, while also gaining time on the course.
  
  Oleksandra's main rival on the course was France's Themis Fontaine, who, unlike Merkushyna, cleared all 20 targets. As a result, the Ukrainian finished second.
  
• Tetiana Tarasiuk, meanwhile, started the race with a clean first shooting stage, but due to a slow pace was already trailing by 41 seconds leaving the range. Over the next three shooting stages, the Ukrainian missed once, finishing 15th.
  
• Kseniia Prykhodko picked up 45 penalty seconds at each of the first two shooting stages, falling outside the top 20. But clean shooting at the next two stages let her regain several positions, finishing 26th.
  
• Valeriia Sheihas cleared the race's first ten targets in 50.5 seconds, but did miss once each at the third and fourth shooting stages. As a result, the athlete finished over five minutes behind the leader.

2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships Individual Race, Junior Women, 12.5 km: Results

1. Themis Fontaine, France (0+0+0+0) 44:42.9

2. Oleksandra Merkushyna, Ukraine (1+0+0+0) +19.5

3. Inka Hämäläinen, Finland (0+0+0+2) +49.6

...

15. Tetiana Tarasiuk, Ukraine (0+1+0+0) +3:47.7
22. Valeriia Sheihas, Ukraine (0+0+1+1) +5:26.7
26. Kseniia Prykhodko, Ukraine (1+1+3+0) +5:49.8

The 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships continue Monday, March 2, with the youth and junior mixed relays. Races start at 12:00 and 15:45, respectively.