Maxim Kuznetsov made his Olympic debut in ski acrobatics, finishing 23rd in the qualification round. Reflecting on his experience, he stated,
“Being an Olympian is exciting. I felt a bit nervous on my first jump, but that dissipated by the second. I managed to perform more calmly, although I realized my speed was lacking.”
Kuznetsov expressed uncertainty about his performance, noting,
“In the first jump, it felt like I had plenty of speed. I am not sure how I would have executed a good landing. For the second jump, I just didn’t have enough speed.”
Fellow athlete Yan Havryuk also shared his thoughts after finishing 21st in the qualification, missing out on a spot in the top 12. He remarked,
“I aimed to secure a place in the top 6 after my first jump to avoid a second attempt. I had set high expectations for myself. Ideally, I wanted to reach the super final. Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned, but this will be a valuable experience for me.”
In the ski cross event, Alexander Okipnyuk emerged as the only Ukrainian to advance to the finals. Kuznetsov, Havryuk, and another competitor, Dmytro Kotovskyi, were unable to improve their scores in the second qualification attempt.
The final for the ski cross competition is set to be broadcast live at 14:30 on the Suspilne Sport channel and local affiliates.
Havryuk scored 53.84 points on his second jump but did not qualify for the next round.
Ukrainian athletes Maxim Kuznetsov and Yan Havryuk faced challenges in their Olympic qualification events, with Kuznetsov finishing 23rd and Havryuk 21st. Only Alexander Okipnyuk advanced to the finals in ski acrobatics.