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Author: Andrii Nikitonok

Ukrainians Finish Outside the Top 40 in the Junior Men's Individual Race at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships: Results

Ukrainians Finish Outside the Top 40 in the Junior Men's Individual Race at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships: Results
Oleksandr Bilanenko. Photo: National Olympic Committee of Ukraine

The 'yellow and blues' couldn't handle the shooting stages.

Ukraine wrapped up the second race of the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships — Oleksandr Bilanenko, Dmytro Kriukov, Ivan Steblyna, and Andrii Moroz competed in the junior men's (U21) individual race on February 28.

The top Ukrainian finisher was Oleksandr Bilanenko, who missed six times at the shooting range and finished nearly nine minutes behind the leader. None of the national team's representatives made the scoring zone.

Earlier on Saturday's competition day at the Junior World Championships, Ukraine won its first medal — Taras Tarasiuk took silver in the youth men's individual race. For the full race schedule and Team Ukraine's roster, see this article.

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 Men's Individual Race at the 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships Went for Team Ukraine

  • Oleksandr Bilanenko, the first Ukrainian to start, missed twice already at the first prone stage. Adding four more misses across the following shooting stages, the athlete posted the 41st-fastest time — the best among the Ukrainians.
  • Dmytro Kriukov, starting with bib number 33, began the individual race on already-churned snow — the temperature in Arber during the race reached +12°C. By the 1.1 km mark, the Ukrainian already trailed the leader by 36.8 seconds. With seven total misses at the shooting range, Kriukov finished 73rd.
  • Ivan Steblyna cleared the first shooting stage with one miss, but missed three times right away at the next. He was already trailing by more than four minutes leaving the range. His total deficit at the finish came to over 11 minutes, with eight misses.
  • Andrii Moroz also couldn't handle the prone stage — three misses right at the first shooting range. After missing once more at the second stage, the athlete gave up the fight for the scoring zone, finishing right behind Kriukov.
  • The battle for gold played out between France's Léo Carlier and Sweden's Filip Flinkvist Flotten. Carlier started in the first starting group and missed once at the prone stage, while Flinkvist Flotten had bib number 84, but thanks to flawless shooting, beat the Frenchman by 46.7 seconds.

2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships Individual Race, Junior Men (U21), 15 km: Results

1. Filip Flinkvist Flotten, Sweden (0+2+0+0) 49:44.0
2. Léo Carlier, France (0+0+1+0) +46.7

3. Jakov Kulbin, Estonia (2+1+1+1) +2:16.6

...
41. Oleksandr Bilanenko, Ukraine (2+3+1+0) +8:54.5
62. Ivan Steblyna, Ukraine (1+3+1+3) +11:29.7
73. Dmytro Kriukov, Ukraine (4+0+2+1) +13:27.1
74. Andrii Moroz, Ukraine (3+1+2+1) +13:27.5

2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships Medal Table After the First Competition Day

1. Latvia — 1 medal (1+0+0)

1. Sweden — 1 (1+0+0)

2. Ukraine — 1 (0+1+0)

2. France — 1 (0+1+0)

3. Bulgaria — 1 (0+0+1)

3. Estonia — 1 (0+0+1)

The 2026 Junior World Biathlon Championships continue Sunday, March 1, with the youth and junior women's individual races. Starts at 11:30 and 15:10, respectively.

#Biathlon#Junior World Biathlon Championships