Ukraine’s first Olympic biathlon race: How they fared in mixed relay
Vitalii Mandzyn (Photo: biathlon.com.ua)
At the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, biathlon competition began with the mixed relay as the first event.
RBC-Ukraine reports on who won the first medals and how the Ukrainian athletes performed.
Before the start
The Ukrainian team competed in the relay with the following lineup: Dmytro Pidruchnyi and Vitalii Mandzyn ran the men’s legs, while Olena Horodna and Oleksandra Merkushyna took on the women’s legs.
The defending Olympic champions in the mixed relay were Norway, which has completely changed its lineup since Beijing 2022 — all four of the previous winners have retired.
The favorites for the relay at the 2026 Olympics were the French and Italian teams, who had exchanged gold and silver in the two classic mixed relays during the World Cup season.
How the Ukrainians fared
The race was opened by the captain of Ukraine’s men’s team, Dmytro Pidruchnyi, competing in his fourth Olympics. He used four extra rounds across two shooting stages. Leaving the second shooting range in 16th place, he gained five positions over the course and handed off the relay in 11th. In terms of skiing speed, Pidruchnyi posted the fourth-fastest time, finishing just 10.8 seconds behind Italy’s Tommaso Giacomel.
Next, Vitalii Mandzyn, making his Olympic debut, took the baton. He shot cleanly in the first stage, gained several positions, and brought the team back into contention for the top spots. He made one standing shooting mistake, but still finished his leg in sixth place.
On the women’s side, Olena Horodna started the leg. She remained in sixth for most of her run but lost one position near the end to an Austrian competitor. The anchor, Oleksandra Merkushyna, also lost one place during her leg.
Overall, Ukraine finished the first Olympic race in eighth place. This is one of the best results in mixed relay history for the team; the only better finish came in 2014, when Ukraine placed sixth.
Who won the race
The Olympic gold in the mixed relay went to France, represented by Éric Perrot, Quentin Fillon Maillet, Lou Jeanmonnot, and Julia Simon. The French team finished 25.8 seconds ahead of the hosts, Italy. Bronze went to Germany.
Mixed relay results:
- France (0+7) – 1:04:15.5
- Italy (0+5) – +25.8
- Germany (1+3) – +1:05.3
- Norway (2+6) – +1:37.2
- Sweden (2+7) – +1:40.8
- Finland (0+7) – +1:56.5
- Austria - 1:06:36.5
- Ukraine (0+8) – +2:36.6
The biathlon program at the 2026 Olympics will continue with the men’s individual race on Tuesday, February 10, starting at 14:30 Kyiv time.
Earlier, we published the full schedule of Ukrainian athletes’ events on February 8 at the 2026 Olympics.
