From July 14 to 18, the SSL Gold Cup – a qualifying round for the sailing World Cup – took place on Lake Neuchâtel in the Swiss city of Grandson, with the Ukrainian crew emerging as the winner.
The Ukrainian national team, consisting of eleven athletes, included two representatives of the school of higher sportsmanship in Donetsk oblast and the city of Mariupol – Valeriy Kudryashov and Stanislav Mulko. On a 47-foot (14.3-meter) SSL 47-class yacht, they served as the grinder (power work on the winches) and the bowman (work at the bow of the yacht), respectively.
The Ukrainians finished first in Group F of the second round of the SSL Gold Cup qualifiers, ahead of the teams from Finland and Greece. Before the sixth and decisive race, the battle for first place reached its peak: the Ukrainian and Finnish teams were tied with 12 points each. The decisive race effectively turned into a match race – a tactical duel between the two yachts – in which the Ukrainians emerged victorious.
Thanks to this success, the Ukrainian team earned the right to compete in the final stage of this historic tournament among the world’s 40 strongest teams, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in November and December 2026.