On July 19–20, the Spanish enclave of Melilla hosted a fiery edition of the European Sprint and Mixed Relay Triathlon Championships. With racing set against the turquoise backdrop of the iconic Playa de los Galápagos, athletes faced a deceptively technical flat bike course and a final run punctuated by a punishing climb just 500 meters from the line.

Representing Ukraine in the elite division were Vitalii Vorontsov and Sofiya Pryyma, while the junior squad featured Illia Honcharuk, Zakhar Tsivkovskyi, and Dana Soroka.

Vorontsov crossed the line in 47th, earning 17 valuable points toward his world ranking. Pryyma followed suit with a strong performance, finishing 41st in a fiercely contested women’s field. Among the juniors, Honcharuk placed 56th, Tsivkovskyi 57th, and Soroka claimed 47th in her division.

The following day, Team Ukraine lined up among 19 nations in the mixed team relay — a discipline as strategic as it is fast. Pryyma led the team off, exchanging the tag alongside Portugal. Oleksii Astafiev-Kulish powered through the second leg, followed by Dana Soroka on the third. Vorontsov anchored the final stretch, but the rising gap to the front-runners and the short loop format conspired against them — the team was pulled on the third leg as leaders closed in.

Meanwhile, updates from the European junior rankings tell a story of upward movement. Following solid results in Chișinău and Melilla, Ukraine now holds 18th place among 31 nations, with a cumulative tally of 1365 points.

In the national federation standings, Ukraine has maxed out its male and female contributors (three each), earning a hefty 293 points in the mixed relay from Chișinău. Top scorers for the nation include Fedir Bezlepkin (187.4 points) and Eva Soroka (342 points), with additional firepower from Arsen Adamov (134.3), Zakhar Tsivkovskyi (107.3), Maria Ivashchenko (183), and Dana Soroka (114). Rising talent Matvii Malysh rounds out the top four men with 106.3 points.