Senior coach of the women’s biathlon team Mykola Zots announced the preliminary team roster for the upcoming 2026 European Championships. The competition will take place from 28 January to 1 February, immediately after the conclusion of the World Cup stage in Nové Město. Although these competitions are the last serious start before the Winter Games, most of the top biathletes will skip them to focus on preparing for the races in the high mountains of Antholz.
As for the core of our women’s team, they will also not participate in the championship. Khristina Dmytrenko, Yulia Dzhyma, Olena Horodna, Daryna Chalyk and Oleksandra Merkushyna will not participate in the European Championships.
Anastasia Merkushina, Valeria Dmitrenko and Lilia Steblina have already been included in the application for the 2026 European Championships — they will compete for reserve status at the 2026 Olympics. The rest of the team (another three positions) will be completed by decision of the coaching staff of the junior and B teams.
As Zots noted in a comment for Suspilne Sport, Anastasia Merkushina, Valeria Dmitrenko and Lilia Steblina are included in the European Championship squad. They will be joined by either Anna Kryvonos or Nadiya Belkina (as decided by the B team coaching staff), as well as the two best juniors, whose names will be determined based on the results of the European Junior Championships.
Since the quota for the ‘blue and yellows’ in the individual races at Euro 2026 is six athletes, all members of the team will participate in the races.
What is known about the 2026 championship
The 2026 European Championship will be hosted by Shushen, Norway. Over five days, biathletes will compete for eight sets of medals. This tournament has been very successful for the Ukrainian team: historically, the national team is one of the most successful at the European Biathlon Championships.
The blue and yellows are fourth in the overall ranking. Our athletes have won 83 awards, including 29 gold medals. The Ukrainians’ medal streak continued in 2024 thanks to Khristina Dmytrenko’s bronze medal.
We remind you that the results of the Biathlon World Cup stage in Ruhpolding have been announced.
