Olympics 2026: February 17 events and Ukrainian athletes’ starts

Three key disciplines: where to watch the Ukrainians

Despite the large number of participants, Ukraine’s medal hopes and advancement to the next rounds focus on just three sports.

The largest concentration of Ukrainian athletes will be in freestyle skiing (aerials), with many competing in the qualification rounds.

Ukrainian athletes will also compete in the biathlon relay and Nordic combined.

Medal chances and qualifications: performance details

The day will begin with ski jumping in Nordic combined.

Dmytro Mazurchuk and Oleksandr Shumbarets will try to challenge experienced competitors in the jumps, followed by the cross-country race.

In freestyle skiing (aerials), Ukraine is fielding a strong team of eight athletes.

The women’s team includes four Olympic debutants: Diana Yablonska, Oksana Yatsiuk, Angelina Brikina, and Nelli Popovych.

In the men’s competition, finalists will be determined among both newcomers Yan Havryuk and Maksym Kuznetsov, and experienced athletes Dmytro Kotovskyi and Oleksandr Okipniuk.

The final event of the day will be the men’s biathlon relay. The coaching staff has set the following leg order:

• Dmytro Pidruchnyi

• Bohdan Borkovskyi

• Vitalii Mandzyn

• Taras Lesiuk

Full schedule of Ukrainian athletes (February 17, Kyiv time, AM/PM):

• 11:00 AM – Nordic combined: large hill ski jump (Dmytro Mazurchuk, Oleksandr Shumbarets)

• 11:45 AM – Freestyle: women’s aerials qualification (Yablonska, Yatsiuk, Brikina, Popovych)

• 2:30 PM (2:45 PM) – Freestyle: men’s aerials qualification (Havryuk, Kuznetsov, Kotovskyi, Okipniuk)

• 2:45 PM – Nordic combined: 10 km cross-country (medal final)

• 3:30 PM – Biathlon: men’s relay 4×7.5 km (medal final)

Earlier, we reported how Ukrainian skater Oleh Handei advanced to the short-track quarterfinals at the 2026 Olympics despite a fall.