UPDATE: Ukrainian women’s team coach Olesandr Kravchenko has tested positive for COVID and will miss this weekend’s race in Ruhpolding, Germany. Men’s team coaches Oleksiy Kravchenko and Ihor Yashchenko are also in isolation as close contacts and will also miss this weekend’s event despite testing negative. The teams from Germany and Norway also have people in isolation after positive tests.
Ukraine’s prospects of winning a medal at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games just became brighter after Darya Blashko and Artem Tyshchenko hit the podium in the mixed relay at the last World Cup event before Beijing 2022.
Things are looking up for Ukraine’s chances at the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, China after Ukraine’s mixed biathlon relay team came away with a surprise bronze medal at the Biathlon World Cup event in Oberhof, Germany last weekend.
In the final mixed relay race before Beijing 2022, Darya Blashko and Artem Tyshchenko finished nearly 12 seconds ahead of Belarus to win bronze behind Austria and athletes from ROC*.
“It finally happened!”, said an elated Tyshchenko about winning the team’s first World Cup medal of the season.
“What a day – a great Christmas present with Artem [Tyshchenko]”, said Blashko after the race. “Thanks to everyone in the shadows that does everything for the success of the team everyday!”
Tyshchenko is a former two-time Junior European champion, while Blashko helped Ukraine’s women’s relay team to an impressive bronze medal at last year’s world championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia.
Low Expectations
Ukraine is not exactly known for its winter sports prowess.
While Ukrainian athletes win dozens of medals at the Summer Olympics, the team has never won more than two at a Winter Olympic Games.
Oleksandr Abramenko won the team’s only medal at PyeongChang 2018, becoming the first man to win an individual Winter Olympic gold medal for Ukraine.
The team will have a challenge on its hands to match that result at Beijing 2022.
Speaking to the Ukrainian Sports Journalists Association at a year-end event, Vadym Hutzeit, an Olympic champion and current Ukrainian Youth & Sports Minister, reiterated what Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee outlined to the Kyiv Post earlier – that a single medal of any colour would be considered a success.
“Let’s be honest, if we bring (back) at least one medal from Beijing 2022 – it will be good“
The Other First: Victor Petrenko was the first Ukrainian man to win a Winter Olympic medal when he won silver at Albertville 1992. Unfortunately for Petrenko – and he’ll be sure to tell you – Ukraine’s new National Olympic Committee was not yet recognised, so his medal was for the Unified Team and he did not get to hear the Ukrainian national anthem.
A step in the right direction
It hasn’t been an easy year for Ukraine’s biathlon team.
Once one of the world’s finest programmes – the Ukrainian women’s relay team memorably won gold at Sochi 2014 days before the Russian occupation of Crimea began – the team hadn’t won a single World Cup medal this season until Blashko and Tyshchenko’s bronze.
Plenty of ink has been spilled to explain the reasons. Even Hutzeit was on the defensive at his year end press conference.
“I understand that we are still upset by [our] biathletes”, he said at the meeting.
“I assure you that the ministry has done everything necessary to prepare them. Our biathletes have everything. Now it’s up to them and their coaches.”
Success at Beijing 2022 is just one part of the government’s strategy to land a future Winter Olympic Games in Western Ukraine. The other? A significant investment in winter sports infrastructure to help train Ukraine’s next generation of winter sports stars.
President Volodomyr Zelensky has stated that he’d like to see modern sports facilities in every oblast.
To build 19 ice hockey rinks, for example, the government has earmarked Hr. 500,000 ($18,000 USD).
“We supported the initiative of the President to prepare Ukraine’s application for the Winter Olympics because we understand that we will not have winter sports without new training centres”, Hutzeit said.
“You understand that the Winter Games are not an end in themselves. The main thing is new winter sports centres … new high-level athletes, new Olympic licenses and medals”.
He specifically mentioned the new ice arena in Melitopil, new sports palaces in Bucha, Rivne, and Ternopil, and the new Olympic base in Koncha Zaspa.
“I still remember how our fencers were preparing for the Olympic Games in the dining room or assembly hall”, he said, recalling his days as a world class fencer.
“Today they have a specially-equipped hall with walkways.”
Biathlon at Beijing 2022
While Olympic licenses won’t be finalised until after this weekend’s World Cup event in Ruhpolding, Germany, Ukraine will have one of the largest biathlon teams at Beijing 2022.
The team’s best chance could be on Day One of Beijing 2022 when the mixed team takes to the course at China’s National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou.
Unlike at last weekend’s mixed relay event, which saw just a single women’s and men’s racer from each team compete, the Olympic race sees two women and two men each ski for six kilometres, shooting at two separate firing locations – one prone and one standing.
Ukraine finished 7th in the event at PyeongChang 2018 and 6th at Sochi 2014, where the mixed relay made its debut.
Hutzeit pointed out that Ukraine’s biathletes are not the only medal threats at Beijing 2022, specifically pointing out Ukraine’s freestyle skiing team as being in top form.
“Our freestylers have had much more success than our biathletes at the beginning of this winter”, he said. “I talked to head coach Enver Ablayev and he says his athletes are well prepared and focused on the results.”
“I wish all our athletes good luck.“
*NOTE: In 2019, the World Anti-Doping Agency banned Russia from all international sports competitions for its failure to comply with its obligations and responsibilities pertaining to the World Anti-Doping Code. As a result, Russian athletes are prevented from competing for Russia at international events. IOC rules state that Russian athletes that have met international doping norms and are able to compete in international events should be referred to using the acronym ROC, not the full ‘Russian Olympic Committee’
