Biathlon
• Yulia Dzhima won bronze in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (22:01.0 seconds) and finished in fifth place in the women’s 10-kilometer sprint (31:24.2 seconds) at the IBU World Cup in Holmenkollen, Norway, on March 15-18. Ukraine’s women’s 4×6-kilometer relay team (Anastasiya Merkushyna, Vita Semerenko, Valj Semerenko and Dzhima) finished in eighth place (1:13:34 seconds).
• Anna Kryvonos won silver in the junior women’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit (44:40.8 seconds) at the Junior World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia, on February 26 through March 4. Evgeniy Ivchenko finished in ninth place (39:27.8 seconds) in the boys’ 12.5-kilometer individual race. Ukraine’s junior men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay team (Ruslan Bryhadyr, Serhiy Telen, Vladislav Koshovets and Bogdan Tsymbal) finished in seventh place (1:30:27.0 seconds) and Kristina Dmytrenko finished in sixth place in the girls’ six-kilometer sprint (20:18.0 seconds) and in ninth place (25:56.5 seconds) in the girls’ 7.5-kilometer pursuit.
• Ruslan Tkalenko finished in seventh place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (27:17.6 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, on February 2-3.
• Bohdan Tsymbal won silver in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit (35:42.8 seconds) and bronze in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint (30:23.0 seconds) at the Junior Open European Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia, on January 31 through February 4. Ukraine’s junior mixed relay team (Anna Kryvonos, Krstina Dmytrenko, Vladislav Koshovets and Bohdan Tsymbal) finished in fourth place (1:19:28.7 seconds), and Ukraine finished in sixth place (44:23.2 seconds) in the single mixed relay (Valeriya Dmytrenko and Ruslan Bryhadyr).
• Ukraine’s mixed relay team (Yullya Zuravok, Iryna Varvarynets, Artem Pryma and Dmyro Pidruchniy) won gold (1:11:40.1 seconds) and Varvarynets won gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (20:54.1 seconds) at the European Championship in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy, on January 24. Varvarynets won silver in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (29:36.4 seconds). Zhuravok and Varvynets finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively, in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race; Zhuravok finished with a time of 47:29.3 seconds and Varvynets finished with a time of 47:40.5 seconds. Pidruchniy finished in eighth place (34:00.8 seconds) in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit race. Pryma and Pidruchniy finished in fifth and eighth place, respectively, in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (24:41.6 seconds and 24:50.9 seconds).
• Mariya Paniflova finished in 10th place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (22:59.1 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Arber, Germany, on January 11-13.
• Yuliia Dzhima and Valj Semerenko finished in fourth and fifth places, respectively, in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race (42:14.9, 42:21.6 seconds) at the World Cup in Ruhpolding, Germany, on January 10-14. Vita Semerenko finished in 10th place in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start (34:51.3 seconds).
• Andriy Dotsenko finished in ninth place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (26:04.6 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia, on January 6-7.
• Vita Semerenko won bronze in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (31:59.7 seconds) at the World Cup in Oberhof, Germany, on January 4-7. Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in fifth place (33:39.8 seconds) in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit and finished in 10th place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (25:25.6 seconds). Ukraine’s women’s relay team (Anastasiya Merkushyna, Yuliia Dzhima, Semerenko and Olena Pidhrushna) finished in fifth place (1:13:58.2 seconds).
Judo
• Ukraine’s junior judo team finished in sixth place at the Cadet European Judo Cup in Berlin on April 7-8. Anastasiia Balaban (40 kg) won gold, and Oleh Veredyba (55 kg) won silver. Bohdan Pushenko (81 kg) and Anton Plakhtnyk (+90 kg) finished in fifth place, and Luka Netiaha (81 kg) finished in seventh place. The tournament attracted 588 athletes (336 men, 252 women) from 38 countries.
• Ukraine won three bronze medals – Artem Kharchenko (81 kg), Karo Marandian (66 kg) and Fedir Panko (+100 kg) – at the Senior European Judo Cup in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on April 7-8. Oleksandr Kruk (81 kg) finished in fifth place and Grachik Avagyan (81 kg) finished in ninth place. The tournament attracted 156 athletes from 21 countries – 102 men and 54 women.
• Anastasiya Turchyn (78 kg) won silver and Galyna Tarasova (+78 kg) won bronze at the Judo Grand Prix in Antaly, Turkey, on April 6-8. Ukraine finished in 14th place in the medal standings out of 35 participating countries. The tournament attracted 316 athletes – 206 men and 110 women.
• Ukraine finished in ninth place (one silver, one bronze and one seventh-place finish) at the Grand Prix in Tbilisi, Georgia, on March 30 through April 1. Anastasiya Turchyn (78 kg) won silver after losing to Audrey Tcheumeo of France in the final; Sergii Krivchach (81 kg) won bronze after defeating Stanislav Semenov of Russia; and Anastasiia Sapsai (+78 kg) finished in seventh place after her loss against Ivana Sutalo of Croatia.
• Artem Bubyr (73 kg) and Oleh Veredyba (55 kg) won silver medals and Vladyslava Snitko (48 kg) won bronze at the Cadet European Judo Cup in Zagreb, Croatia, on March 10-11.
• Ukraine finished in fifth place in the medal standings (one gold, one silver, two bronze, one fifth place finish) at the Grand Prix Agadir, Morocco, on March 10-11. Yelyzaveta Kalanina (+78 kg) won gold after winning the final against Anamari Velensek of Slovenia. Anastasiya Turchyn (-78 kg) won silver after losing to Maike Ziech of Germany in the final. Quedjau (90 kg) and Oleksandr Godriienko (+100 kg) won bronze medals in their respective divisions and Dmytro Kanivets (73 kg) finished in fifth place. The tournament attracted 237 athletes from 38 countries.
• Ivan Prudius (60 kg) won silver in the men’s division at the Cadet European Judo Cup on March 3-4 in Atalya, Turkey. Ukraine’s other top-10 finishes included Anastasiia Balaban (44 kg) in seventh place and Luka Netiaha (81 kg) in ninth place. The tournament attracted 365 athletes (223 men and 142 women) from 23 countries.
• Ukraine’s men’s team finished in eighth place (one silver, one bronze, three fifth-place finishes and two seventh-place finishes) at the European Judo Open Men in Prague, the Czech Republic, on March 3-4. Artem Khomula (73 kg) won silver after losing to Augusto Meloni of Italy in the final. Anton Savytskiy (-100 kg) won bronze. Fifth-place finishers included Gevorg Khachatrian (66 kg), Sergii Krivchach (81 kg) and Semen Rakita (90 kg). Seventh-place finishers included Danylo Hutsol (-100 kg) and Viktor Makukha (90 kg). Ukraine was represented by 33 judoka; the tournament attracted 299 athletes from 41 countries.
• Ukraine’s women’s team finished in fifth place with one gold, two fifth-place finishes and one seventh-place finish at the European Judo Open Women 2018 in Warsaw on March 3-4. Anastasiia Sapsai (+78 kg) won gold after defeating Mercedez Szigetvari of Hungary in the final. Vasylyna Kyrychenko (+78 kg) and Lyudmyla Pliieva (52 kg) finished in fifth place, and Yuliia Hrebenozhko (63 kg) finished in seventh place. Ukraine was represented by nine judoka and the competition attracted 147 athletes from 24 countries.
• Ukraine won one gold and one silver medal and had two seventh-place finishes to finish in third place in the medal standings at the Judo Grand Slam in Dusseldorf, Germany, on February 23-25. Daria Bilodid (48 kg) won gold, Georgii Zantaraia (66 kg) won silver. Yelyzaveta Kalanina (+78 kg) and Anton Savytsky (100 kg) finished in seventh place. Ukraine fielded a team of six men and four women in a tournament that attracted 65 countries and 440 athletes (270 men, 170 women).
• Anastasiia Balaban (44 kg) won bronze in the women’s division of the Cadet European Judo Cup in Fuengirola, Spain, on February 17-18. Balaban lost in the semifinal against Silvia Guiseppa Drago of Italy. The tournament attracted 471 athletes (267 men, 204 women) from 36 countries.
• Daria Bilodid (48 kg) won gold at the International Judo Federation Grand Slam in Paris on February 10-11. Maryna Cherniak (48 kg) won bronze and Anastasiya Turchyn (78 kg) finished in seventh place. Ukraine, represented by four men and five women, finished in sixth place in the medals standings. The tournament attracted 399 (232 male and 167 female) athletes from 71 countries.
• At the Cadet European Judo Cup in Follonica, Italy, on February 10-11, Oleh Verbedyba (55 kg) won bronze, and Anastasiia Balaban (44 kg) finished in fifth place. The tournament attracted 534 (305 male, 229 female) athletes from 36 countries.
• Ukraine’s women’s team finished in fourth place (one gold, one silver, two fifth-place and one seventh-place finishes) at the European Judo Open in Odivelas, Portugal on February 3-4. Yelyzaveta Kalanina (+78 kg) won gold, and Galyna Tarasova (+78 kg) won silver. Fifth-place finishers included Lyudmyla Pliieva (52 kg) and Anastasiia Sapsai (+78 kg); Mariia Skora (57 kg) took seventh place. Ukraine fielded a team of 10 athletes, and the tournament attracted 141 competitors from 19 countries.
• Ukraine’s men’s team finished in ninth place in the medals standings (five bronze, two fifth-place finishes) at the European Judo Open in Sofia, Bulgaria, on February 3-4. Andrii Kolesnyk (+100 kg), Artem Lesyuk (60 kg), Danylo Hutsol (-100 kg), Bogdan Iadov (66 kg) and Karo Marandian (66 kg) won bronze medals. Sntaislav Bondarenko (+100 kg) and Oleh Ovcharenko (66 kg) finished in fifth place. Ukraine fielded a team of 32 athletes, and the tournament attracted 244 competitors from 29 countries.
• Ukraine won two gold medals and two bronze at the World Grand Prix in Tunis, Tunisia, on January 19-21. Oleksandr Gordienko (+100 kg) won the final against Javad Mahjoub of Iran, Daria Bilodid (48 kg) also won gold after winning against Alexandra Pop of Romania. Maryna Cherniak (48 kg) and Galyna Tarasova (+78 kg) won bronze medals – Tarasova winning against Anzhela Gasparian of Russia, and Cherniak winning against Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan. Dmytro Kanivets (73 kg) and Anastasiya Turchyn (-78 kg) finished in seventh place. Ukraine fielded a team of 12 athletes, and the competition attracted 334 athletes from 46 countries.
• Stanislav Bondarenko (+100 kg) tied with Duurenbayer Ulziibayar of Mongolia for seventh place at the 2017 World Masters tournament in St. Petersburg, Russia, on December 16-17, 2017. The tournament attracted 214 athletes from 46 countries.
Swimming
• Ukraine won gold in the women’s team highlight event (91.6670 points), gold in the women’s team free combination event (92.1000 points) and silver in the women’s duet free competition (91.6000 points) at the FINA Artistic Swimming World Series on March 9-11 in Paris. Yelyzaveta Yakhno won silver in the women’s solo free program, and Anastasiya Savchuk finished in fourth place in the same event.
Diving
• Maksym Dolgov finished in sixth place (422.75 points) in the men’s 10-meter platform dive at the FINA CNSG Diving World Series No. 2 in Fuji, Japan, on March 15-17.
• Maksym Dolgov finished in sixth place (421.50 points) in the men’s 10-meter platform dive at the FINA CNSG Diving World Series No. 1 in Beijing on March 9-11.
• At the FINA Diving Grand Prix No. 1 in Rostock, Germany, on February 23-25, Sofia Lyskun and Valeriia Liulko won bronze in the women’s 10-meter synchronized dive. Stanislav Oliferchyk and Viktoriya Kesar finished in fourth place (284.88) in the mixed 3-meter synchronized dive; Liulko and Oleksii Sereda finished in fifth place (294.30) in the mixed 10-meter synchronized dive; Nikita Kryvopyshyn and Oliferchyk finished in ninth place (329.61) in the men’s 3-meter synchronized dive; and Anna Pysmenska finished in sixth place (290.40) in the women’s 3-meter springboard.
Mixed martial arts
• Welterweight Alexander Butenko (42-13-4 KO) lost by third-round TKO against Alexey Kunchenko (18-0, 13 KO) of Russia on March 30 at M-1 Arena in St. Petersburg, Russia.
• Heavyweight Sergey Spivak (8-0, 4 KO) won by first-round KO at 2:21 of the first round against Ivo Cuk (12-10, 6 KO) of Croatia at the Kyiv Sports Palace in March 24. Spivak picked up the World Warriors Fighting Championship (WWFC) heavyweight title in a fight that was scheduled for five rounds.
Soccer
• Ukraine’s women’s team lost 0-1 against Denmark at Energi Viborg Arena on April 9 as part of the FIFA Women’s World Cup Group 4 qualifiers hosted by UEFA.
• Ukraine’s Premier League has elected a new president, Thomas Grimm. The Swiss lawyer, 58, is to serve a four-year term as president and replaces Volodymyr Heninson (2016-2018). Vitaliy Danilov served as president of the UPL (2008-2016) prior to Heninson. Grimm, who brings experience as president of Switzerland’s Young Boys team and president of the Swiss Super League for two years (2009-2011), received support from 10 out of the 12 teams in the UPL.
Fencing
• Ukraine’s junior women’s épée team finished in fourth place at the World Championships for juniors and cadets on April 3-9 in Verona, Italy. Ukraine lost 27-45 against Russia in the third-place match.