From June 12 to 14, two rock climbing competitions in the olympic “speed” discipline took place in the Polish city of Zakopane, bringing together participants from 14 countries – the European Youth Championships and the World Climbing Europe Series Zakopane 2026.
Seven athletes from the Donetsk region competed as members of the Ukrainian national team – representatives of the region’s School of higher sportsmanship and the Donetsk regional specialized professional sports college.
Kseniia Horielova won a silver medal at the European Championships in the U21 age category, which featured 11 athletes from 9 countries. Kateryna Holobokova finished in ninth place.
In the under-19 competition, 22 athletes from 9 countries competed for the title. Polina Khalkevych won the European championship title in this age group, and Mariia Shymkova finished fourth.
Two athletes also represented Donetsk oblast at the European Championships in the U17 age category, which featured 20 participants from 8 countries. Anna Falieiva finished seventh, and Vladyslava Panchenko finished tenth.
Among climbers under 17, Roman Ovcharenko finished 20th.
At the women’s World Climbing Europe Series Zakopane 2026 competition, which brought together 36 participants from 13 countries, the Donetsk region was represented by three athletes on the Ukrainian national team. Polina Khalkevych scored a resounding victory and, for the second time in two days in Zakopane, climbed to the top step of the podium. Kseniia Horielova took tenth place, and Mariia Shymkova finished fourteenth.
The Donetsk region’s rock climbers were trained by coaches Ihor Tyapkin, Maryna Tkachova and Yaroslav Tkach.