Ukraine to compete with biggest-ever team at 2026 Paralympic Winter Games
Ukraine has finalised its squad for the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina.
Source: Suspilne Sport, part of Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne
Details: The Ukrainian team has secured 25 qualification slots and will be represented by 35 athletes, including the 10 guide athletes who will also attend.
Ukraine will compete in four sports, battling it out for medals in the biathlon, cross-country skiing, alpine skiing and snowboarding.
Twenty-five is the highest number of qualification slots Ukraine has secured in its Paralympic history, beating the previous record of 23 athletes at the 2014 Paralympics.
Ukraine's squad for the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games:
Para cross-country skiing and para biathlon (athletes with physical impairments): Hryhorii Vovchynskyi, Dmytro Sereda, Serhii Romaniuk, Serafim Drahun, Oleksandr Aleksyk, Pavlo Bal, Vasyl Kravchuk, Taras Rad, Hryhorii Shymko, Iryna Bui, Liudmyla Liashenko, Oleksandra Kononova and Bohdana Konashuk.
Para cross-country skiing and para biathlon (athletes with visual impairments): Oleksandr Kazik, Anatolii Kovalevskyi, Yaroslav Reshetynskyi, Dmytro Suiarko, Maksym Murashkovskyi, Ihor Kravchuk, Romana Liubasheva, Ilona Kazik, Oksana Shyshkova and Oleksandra Danylenko.
Guide athletes: Serhii Kucheriavyi, Dmytro Drahun, Artem Kazarian, Oleksandr Mukshyn, Oleksandr Nikonovych, Andrii Dotsenko, Vitalii Trush, Mykyta Stakhurskyi, Daryna Kovalova and Anastasiia Shabaldina.
Para alpine skiing: Maksym Heliuta.
Para snowboarding: Vladyslav Khilchenko.
Background:
- Ukraine's most successful Winter Paralympics were the 2022 Games in Beijing, where the team won 29 medals – 11 gold, 10 silver and 8 bronze.
- Russian athletes will also be present at the Games in Italy and have been allowed to compete under national symbols. In protest, Ukraine will boycott the opening ceremony, joined by several other countries.
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