Ukraine Loses Second Place in the Youth Men's Relay at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships: What Happened
The 'yellow and blues' were running second after two legs.
Ukraine's youth men's biathlon team closed out their 2026 Junior World Championships campaign with an eighth-place finish in the 3x7.5 km relay, held March 7 in Arber, Germany. The national team was represented in the race by Taras Tarasiuk, Yaroslav Harkusha, and Nazarii Savonik.
Going into the second-to-last competition day of the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships, Ukraine sat fifth in the overall medal table with four medals — one gold, two silver, and one bronze.
In particular, in the World Championships' final individual race — the junior women's (U21) mass start — Oleksandra Merkushyna won gold.
How Ukraine's Youth Men Fared in the Relay at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships in Arber
- Ukraine's starter in the relay was silver medalist of the 2026 Junior World Championships individual race, Taras Tarasiuk. He came out of the prone stage first, shooting clean, and held the lead through the standing stage too (0+1).
- At the first exchange, the national team held the third-best split time, 2.3 seconds behind Germany, though Yaroslav Harkusha had dropped to fourth by the first shooting stage. But on his leg, he used two spare rounds, which still moved Ukraine up to second thanks to poor shooting from rivals.
- Nazarii Savonik took over the relay in second and battled France and Czechia on the course, but a penalty lap after the prone stage ended his fight for the top six. The Ukrainian shot clean at the final stage but finished eighth.
2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships Youth Men's Relay, 3x7.5 km, Results
- Italy (0+8) 1:02:00.2
- Czechia (2+10) +23.0
- Estonia (0+6) +29.7
...
8. Ukraine (1+6) +2:15.8
Next up at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships is the junior men's (U21) classic relay. Start time: March 7 at 15:15 Kyiv time.