"Making a living" in Italy without Pidruchny and Jimmy. A preview of the 2025 European Championship.
The competition program includes individual races, sprints, pursuits, and classic relays, which are making a return to the calendar. The championship in South Tyrol has been officially opened and will run until February 2 – this is the last competition before the 2025 World Championship.
The European Championship sounds prestigious, but those who are more familiar with biathlon know that in terms of ranking, these competitions fall behind the stages of the World Cup and, of course, the World Championship. Although biathlon is a European sport, with almost all stars representing this part of the planet, the championship is still very interesting in its own right, with often unpredictable results. There are always local intrigues, and there is also room for sports dramas.
Like a suitcase without a handle – hard to carry and a pity to leave behind
World biathlon leaders typically sacrifice the European Championship for the World Championship and World Cup stages. Therefore, they delegate a second-string team or those who need to start for various reasons – to qualify for upcoming competitions, regain form through starts, or fulfill other training or image tasks. However, completely sending only substitutes is also not feasible, as there is a need to maintain the country's reputation and minimize reputational risks. Interestingly, this championship has an open status, so don't be surprised if you see representatives from outside Europe in the start lists.
5The Ukrainian national team has developed a somewhat different approach over the decades. At the European Championship, they try to involve as many main athletes as possible. This is important in the context of funding for this sport. Simply put, the more medals and high placements, the more money will be allocated to biathlon from the general fund. There is a formula by which all this is meticulously calculated in the Ministry of Sports. The system seems correct, with certain incentives and stimuli. However, it is not ideal for biathlon.
There are few sports where the European Championship has such a low status as in biathlon. Ukrainian coaches and biathletes often say that the main goal for the season is the World Championship. And it's clear why. Therefore, coaches and athletes often have to juggle between the World Cup stages, the European Championship, and preparation for the World Championship. In high-performance sports, where every day of preparation and recovery is crucial, traveling back and forth and disrupting meticulously planned training cycles is often risky. But, a system is a system… Thus, there is a mixed personnel system in place, where it is risky to bring the core team to the European Championship, and competing entirely with a second-string team is also a gamble. Hence, the constant struggle.
Similarly, European teams are not so dependent on state funding. They have more commercial backing. For instance, a French or Norwegian biathlete gives their all at the World Cup stages, where there are high rankings and decent prize money for biathlon. Finding a strong sponsor will be easier if one is among the leaders throughout the season, which runs from November to March.
By the way, Eastern European countries, where sports have not yet reached such commercialization, also often bring their main athletes to the European forum, and they often become the main competitors of Ukrainians.
In any case, the image of the European Championship needs saving. The International Biathlon Union is well aware of this.
Pidruchnyi was sidelined in Antholz, Mandzin will run the relay
The European Championship will kick off with individual races. Ruslan Tkalenko, Artem Tyshchenko, Denys Nasyko, Bohdan Tsymbal, and Roman Borovyk will start. Almost all of them, except for the young Borovyk, have significant experience in World Cup and World Championship starts, but they are not the core, so there is no potential advantage over their rivals.
6Heavy artillery in the form of Dmytro Pidruchnyi was supposed to appear at other starts. But a problem occurred. At the World Cup stage in Antholz, the captain of the Ukrainian men's national team suffered another back issue, resulting in him withdrawing from the pursuit race, and he had to forget about the European Championship. Moreover, there is now a question regarding his readiness for the World Championship, for which Dmytro was in excellent form, consistently achieving high placements.
The European Championship will also serve as a battle for Ukrainian biathletes to secure a spot in the World Championship lineup. There are still two vacancies to join Pidruchnyi, Mandzin, Dudchenko, and Lesyuk. Therefore, motivation should be high.
What can we expect from our guys? Anything! They have not particularly distinguished themselves with consistency, but each has their strengths. "Sniper" Artem Tyshchenko can compete for high placements in the individual race. Three-time bronze medalist in European mixed relays Ruslan Tkalenko may aim for good placements in the sprint and then try to catch up in the pursuit. And in the "individual," if the shooting goes well, he has a chance to be high up.
Bohdan Tsymbal has not impressed at World Cup stages, but he may find his form in Martell. The head coach of the Ukrainian men's team, Nadiya Belova, stated in an interview with "Champion" that Tsymbal is going to the European Championship to "get some starts."
Roman Borovyk, who celebrated his 25th birthday on January 28, participated in four starts at the 2025 World Universiade but did not secure any medal placements. Somewhat fatigued, but in theory, he could still make an impact at the European Championship.
It is expected that the main Ukrainian team members Vitaliy Mandzin, Taras Lesyuk, and Anton Dudchenko will only compete in the relay. By the way, the latter mentioned in a flash interview with "Champion" that he is struggling to regain his form after an illness.
As evidence of this – his "rollercoaster" performances. An uncertain stage in the relay, but a phenomenal pursuit race, where Dudchenko made up over 20 positions and finished in the top 15. We hope that in the relay in Martelli, Anton will definitely help the team!
In the remaining races, athletes from the "B" team will represent Ukraine.
Women – the main among the non-main
The composition of the women's team was formed on a similar principle. The currently stronger athletes will compete in a limited format. Overall, the lineup includes: Anastasia Merkushina, Oleksandra Merkushina, Anna Kryvonos, Daryna Chalyk, Liliia Steblina, Iryna Petrenko, Khrystyna Dmytrenko, Olena Horodna. Notably, representatives of the main team, namely Dmytrenko, Petrenko, and Horodna, will only compete in the relay – they still need to close the program for the World Championship.
7Yuliia Dzhyma will likely skip the European Championship again this year, continuing her preparation for the World Championship. We assume that the 34-year-old athlete highly values her reasonably good form. Perhaps she senses that she could aim for high placements at the World Championship, and such an opportunity may not arise again. The Ukrainian star simply cannot "stretch" herself physically, and currently, medals are primarily expected from her. We have long moved past the golden age of women's biathlon, when there were options for effective rotations – now such opportunities are extremely rare.
Conversely, another experienced biathlete Anastasia Merkushina stated that she plans to "race" the full program in Martelli. After winning two bronze medals at the IBU Cup, the 30-year-old biathlete has returned to the core team. In Antholz, she participated in the relay, where the Ukrainian team achieved the best result of the season.
Merkushina's performance was not perfect, but her return to the major biathlon scene, where Anastasia successfully competed for part of the season, may prove to be quite effective. And if after Antholz Merkushina complained about feeling some jitters, that should not be the case in Martelli.
The chances of our girls winning medals in individual races certainly exist, but it would be nothing short of a feat. Theoretically, there are more chances in the relay, but let's not forget the unpredictable nature of this sport. Nevertheless, this makes watching the races even more interesting.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian team includes two champions from the 2025 World Universiade – Oleksandra Merkushina and Daryna Chalyk, who earned several medals in Turin.
8However, the European Championship is still a competition of a higher level.
When the stars align
It is impossible to see many stars at the European Championship. However, strong athletes with names are sometimes present. Last year, the participation