In Switzerland, the World Championships and Snowboards will start: what to expect from Ukrainians

The main start of the year in ski acrobats will take place 11 months before the Olympiad and will be the last major competition in front of Milan-2026.

Ukrainian fans, first of all, are waiting for the final competitions in acrobatics. Despite the fact that the Olympic champion of Pyeongchang-2018 and Beijing-2022 Vicechiompion Alexander Abramenko has completed his career, there are new leaders in the national team of Ukraine, which are also able to conquer pedestals of the largest tournaments.

Jubilee championship Freestyle – A rather young sport, and the first World Cup took place in 1986, 29 years ago. The current championship is the twentieth account.

Acrobatics was one of the first species, along with Mogul.

Already in 1999, the program was added parallel to Mogul, and in 2005-Ski-Cros and Khaff-Pip.

Sloftstyle appeared in the World Cup program in the sixth type of 2011.

Finally, the Big Air was added to the program in 2019, and the World Cup has gained its current look-the tournament is held in seven types of program.

At the same time, there are 7 sets of awards in men and women, and in Ski-Cross and acrobatics, in addition to individual, there are team competitions (Mikst). Thus, in total, 16 sets of awards will be played.

The first World Championships were held in 1986 in the city of shadow, in France, and the second -Only three years later, in 1989, in Opeyokh, then western Germany. It was from 1989 that the tournament began to be held every two years, on odd ones.

Another young species developed in parallel – snowboarding. In 1996, the first World Cup in Linza (Austria) passed this species, and since 1997 the tournament has been held every two years.

And since 2015, the International Ski Sport Federation has combined the World Championships with freestyle and snowboarding in one tournament. Which happens every two years.

Returning to medals, it is worth noting that 6 sets of awards in men and women will be played in the snowboarding -in a cross parallel to slalom, parallel to a giant slalom, Sloupeyli, Haf-Pippy and Big Airi. As well as two awards in the command cross (Mikst) and the command parallel slalom (Mikst). Total – 14 sets of medals.

Thus, 30 sets of awards will be played at the World Cup.

Kotovsky, Brykina and Company Fans of the national team of Ukraine, first of all, are calculated on medals in ski acrobatics, one of the most successful winter sports in Ukraine in general. Our main successes – “Gold” and “Silver” by Alexander Abramenko at the last two Olympiads in a row. But even after the representative of Nikolaev completed his career, there are anyone to hope for games in Milan.

In addition to two Olympic medals, Abramenko’s account also silver of the 2019 World Cup. But long before him, in 2011, the first medal of the World Cups was brought by Olga Volkova, who won bronze in American Dir-Welly. The heir to Volkova, after 12 years, at the last World Cup-2023, became Anastasia Novosad, who also won a bronze medal.

In the team acrobatics as part of the World Cup-2023, the national team of Ukraine also won bronze. Medal on the account of Anastasia Novosad, Alexander Okipnyuk and Dmitry Kotovsky.

So on the past of the World Cup we have two medals – Both bronze. In two years, the team aims at surpassing the result, both by quantity and quality of awards. The Ukrainian team has all the prerequisites for this.

If Novosad has completed his career after the 2023 World Cup, making a choice between sports and a personal life in favor of the family, wishing to spend more time with their child, then there were those who are able to replace the leader. Recently, the company Okipnyuk and Kotovsky in team competitions have been successful in Angelina Brykina. At the Cup of the World Cup in Chinese Baidikhe, Ukrainians closed the top five.

Angelina Brykina

Ski Sport Federation of Ukraine

Young overgrowth grows in the men’s team. At the same stage, Jan Gavryuk took a record 11 place for himself. Moreover, as a result of qualification, he became the only Ukrainian who made his way into the main round (TOP-12), taking the last “passage” place, managing to improve his result in the finale. And in the last stage in Livignino (Italy), which took place on March 13, Maxim Kuznetsov took the final 7th place, and Vladimir Kushnir took -12th. The leader of the national team Dmitry Kotovsky failed to qualify in this tournament and finished in 18th.

In general, the men’s national team of Ukraine this season is part of 6 people. In addition to Kotovsky, Okipnyuk, Havryuk, Kuznetsov and Kushnir, Zakhar Maksymchuk also includes the team.

The main character of this season is Dmitry Kotovsky, who at the stage in Dir-Velly won silver. This is the only award of Ukrainian acrobats in the World Cup season. Kotovsky took 9th place in the overall cup of the World Cup. Kuznetsov and Kushnir are located in 14-15 places, 23-24 -Okipnyuk and Gavryuk, and Maksymchuk-on the 36th.

Dmitry Kotovsky

Getty Images

As for the female overall cup of the World Cup, Angelina Brykina here acted better than Kotovsky. First of all, at the expense of stability, constant high results, albeit outside the podium, Brykina took the final 6th place. Diana Jablonskaya -17th, and Oksana Yatsyuk-23.

Not the only acrobatics Another Ukrainian who performs on the World Cup with Freestyle is Catherine Kotzar, who specializes in Big Air. The last stage of the ending World Cup has become successful for 24-year-old Ukrainian and inspires hopes to the World Cup.

In the competitions in the shadow (France), which took place on March 13, the Ukrainian became 7th in qualification, and in the finals took the final 8th place. The best jump, the Kotz, was the last attempt, where Catherine received 79.75 points from the judges. However, this did not help her be among the best. As a result, Kateryna received 133.25 points and finished eight. Such a vivid performance in the world championship gives some hopes.

In the overall standings of the World Cup, 2024/25, the Kotsar finished 11th and, if not among the favorites of the main tournament of the year, then in the second echelon will not be lost.

Also at the end of February, the Kotsar won gold at the European Cup. In Kotelnitsa (Poland), the Ukrainian Fristily player won the fight against other Ukrainian Maria Anchin. Another Ukrainian Anastasia Melnyk took 4th place.

Maria Anchin (left) and Catherine Kotsar (right) on the catwalk of KE in Poland

Ski Sport Federation of Ukraine

THERE ARE The TAP of the European Cup was preceded by fis competitions, which were also attended by the Ukrainian team. Oleg Boyko won gold in Big Air. And in women in both disciplines -Big Air and Slopestayli Pedodestal was completely Ukrainian: Anastasia Melnyk (gold), Maria Sokil (silver), Solomiya Soroka (bronze).

However, the European Cup competitions do not compare with the stages of the World Cup and, moreover, the World Cup.

The second best result in your career The national team of Ukraine also has a medal at snowboarding world championships.

In 2019, silver in a parallel slalom won Annamar Dancha. Five years and a year before the Olympics in Milan, the athlete is in great shape.

Dancha completed the season of the World Cup-2024/25 in the 18th place in the overall standings. This result was the second best in the career of the Uzhgorod native.

At the level of the Dancha World Cup, it appears since the 2006/07 season. And its best result remains the 17th place in the overall credit as a result of the 2023/24 season. In the season 2019/20 took 18th place. It has finished four more times within the top 25 times the strongest snowboarders in the world.

This season, Dancha is in a particularly good shape. Annamari took 6th place in a parallel giant slalom at the stage in the Polish well, repeating the second best result in his career. Twice more Ukrainian in the same discipline took the seventh place, twice got into the TOP-15.

Annamar Dancha

Ski Sport Federation of Ukraine

At the same time one’s main success -6th place in Krynitsa-34-year-old Ukrainian achieved only just over two weeks ago, March 1. Dancha’s main start of the year is suitable in excellent physical and psychological form.

All elite on the head of Kingsbury As for the stars of the world freestyle, the attention of the fans will, first of all, be chained to the Canadian Michael Kingsbury. Pyeonghan Olympic Champion 2018, Silver Winner Sochi-2014 and Beijing-2022 is the 8-time world champion. Four times he won this title in Mogulus and parallel to Moguli.

This season he won five stages of the world’s Cup in Mogul and Four – In parallel Magula. And, of course, he became the owner of the trophy in the overall standings. And now it aims at the 9th and 10th gold medals of the world champion.

And the star of women’s mogula is Frenchwoman Perrin Laffon. The Olympic Champion Pyeongchang-2018 won the Gold of the World Cup in Mogul and three times – In parallel Magula.

This season, she took 2nd place in the overall COP standings in Mogulus and in parallel Mogula. And at the World Cup will be a fascinating Laffon fight with the winner of both World Cup standings, Jelly Kauf from the United States.

Finally, Frenchwive Tess won three Golden World Cup -2017 in Sloftstyle, and in 2019 and 2023-in Big Air. Tess-Igor’s silver medalist in Beijing 2022. But this season, it won only one stage of the World Cup, and in the overall standings it gave way to Italians Flora Tabanelli. Another interesting duel of future competitions.

The two-time Olympic Champion of Beijing (Big-Air and Haf-Paip) and the Winner of Silver (Sloupestyle) at the 2022 Games Eilein Gu, which, however, is far from their best conditioning, was also declared to the championship. American China took third place in the overall COP in Hff Paypy.

But Sandra Neslund is missing the current World Cup. Sweden athlete is the Olympic Beijing Champion 2022 in this type of program, as well as a four-time world champion. At the same time at the previous World Cup 2023 in Georgian Bakurian she won gold medals in Ski-Cross – in personal and team.

In the snowboarding, the hand of Hirano looks a clear favorite. In the 2024/25 season, Japanese, which turned 23 on March 12, won the overall focus of the World Cup in HAF-PAPI for the third time in a row. In 2020, in Lausanne, he won the Youth Olympic Games and now in all pairs he rushes before the first victory at the World Cup. And ahead, less than a year, the Olympiad …

Women stability in recent years has the German Ramon Hofmester. In the 2019/20-2023/24 seasons, she won the overall Cup of the World in a giant slalom four times out of five, and in the season 2024/25 took 2nd place for the second time in 6 seasons. This time – in the fight against Mickey Tsubaki from Japan. The Hofmeyster is not happy in large tournaments, such as the Olympiad and the World Cup-Bronze in Pyeongchang-2018 and two Medals of the World Cup, bronze in 2019 and silver in 2021. In Tsubaki-gold of the previous World Cup 2023.

The Hofmeyster also won the World Cup in a parallel giant slalom for five times in a row, but this year she lost to Tsubaki’s overall credit.

Where to look The live broadcast of the World Championships in Ukraine in Ukraine will be available on the Channel “Public Sport” as well as on Site TV channel.

The first medals will be played in Mogula on Wednesday, March 19. The beginning of the competition – at 13.00 Kyiv time.

The detailed schedule of freestyle – here, from snowboarding – here.