On Friday, December 5, the first stage of the Biathlon World Cup for the 2025/26 season continued in Östersund, Sweden. The women's sprint race concluded unsuccessfully for the Ukrainian biathletes. The best result among the representatives of Ukraine was shown by Darina Chalyk, who finished in 46th place with one penalty loop.
Five Ukrainian biathletes were allowed to compete: Kristina Dmitrenko, Anastasia Merkushina, Oleksandra Merkushina, Olena Horodna, and Darina Chalyk. However, none of them were able to break into the top 40. Olena Horodna stopped at 61st place, while Kristina Dmitrenko and Anastasia Merkushina finished even lower.
As it became known, the victory in the women's sprint was won by Finnish athlete Suvi Minkkinen, who achieved an excellent result of 20:11.9, marking her first victory in individual World Cup races. Swedish athlete Anna Magnusson finished in second place, trailing by 16.6 seconds, while the French biathlete Océane Michelon rounded out the top three.
What’s Next?
The following day, December 6, the men's sprint race over 10 km will take place in Östersund. Ukraine will be represented in this race by: Artem Tyshenko, Dmytro Pidruchnyi, Vitalii Mandzin, Bohdan Tsymbal, and Bohdan Borkovskyi.
All Biathlon World Cup races will be broadcast live on the website and the television channel "Suspilne Sport," as well as on other local channels of Suspilne.
