Biathlon national team of Ukraine led former titled biathletes Serhii Semenov and Oksana Khvostenko. They replaced veterans of the domestic coaching corps – Mykola Zots and Nadia Belova.
The news about the reboot of the coaching shop has been circulating for a long time, and the very fact of the update has been quite popular. Appointments of the “first” to some extent became unexpected, although quite logical. Because if not them, then who? Ukrainian biathlon is taking the road to rejuvenation with a creak and pain. And, probably, this is what dictated such personnel decisions.
It would be naive to wait for the appointment of foreign specialists, first of all, in view of the war.
And a narrow circle of those who were already and even repeatedly at the helm of the national team – was formed. Therefore, the decision on radical changes can be welcomed. At least, the helm was entrusted to a new face.
Obviously, they were guided by the fact that it will be easier for the young athletes who made up the backbone of the national teams to find a common language even with yesterday’s biathletes. Because no matter how cool it is, today’s youth are specific due to the times. Old methods of working with it are ineffective “old school”. So now the main thing – to be able to reduce everything to a common successful denominator. And so that it does not turn out that the rearrangement of terms did not change the sum…
Serhiy Semenov is the Perpetuum mobile of biathlon
37-year-old Serhiy Semenov is one of the legends of the national biathlon. He left skiing and “shooting” not so long ago. Although, if it were not for problems with health and functional condition, he could have performed longer. The active career of the Chernihiv biathlete ended after the 2019/2020 season. The main fighter of the national team after the 2010 Olympics, which gave him the path to adult sports life.
Sergey Semenov
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Already in 2011, Semenov won the bronze medal of the World Championship in the relay. Traditionally, the least powerful at that time was put on the third stage, and it did not pump up. Only this year the bronze managed to exchange for silver thanks to Russia’s disqualification.
At that time, Sergey was not yet the main mechanism of a powerful machine. But over time it became so. Semenov triumphantly won bronze in the sprint at the 2016 World Championships in Holmenkollen, Norway, losing only to the phenomenal kings – Ole Einar Björndalen and Maarten Fourcade. Moreover, he did it in a discipline in which awards were rather not expected. That medal pointed to an important factor in his sports (we hope, also in coaching) career – versatility. In biathlon, this is very important, and it indicates skill and status. Although the greatest strength of the Ukrainian still remained shooting.
Serhiy Semenov with the only crystal globe in the history of Ukrainian men’s biathlon
UNIAN
Even if it is not as stable as that of his current colleague, Oksana Khvostenko, Serhiy’s accuracy “pulled out” more than once. After all, the Chernihiv athlete won two bronze and one silver medals at the World Cup stages precisely in individual races, where, according to the rules, shooting is almost a decisive factor. And it was in this discipline that Semenov won the historic Small Crystal Globe for Ukrainian men’s biathlon (2014/15 season) and made it to the top ten at the 2014 Olympics. The last high-profile success of the biathlete was silver in the relay at the stage of the World Cup in Nove Mesto in 2020.
Semenov, we will remind, after the end of his career got married on the Swiss biathlete Aita Gasparin.
Aita Gasparin and Serhii Semenov
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He practically lived in Europe, cooperated with the Ukrainian national team, was in the service brigade of the team. His father, Oleksandr Volodymyrovych, is a long-time biathlon specialist in the structure of various Ukrainian teams. By the way, another proof of how rich Ukraine is in biathlon dynasties.
What can coach Semenov offer to Ukrainian biathlon? How will you get used to your new role? It sounds as trite as possible, but only time will tell. After all, such a role is really new for a new mentor. Team partners and coaches repeatedly pointed out the peculiarity of Semenov even as an athlete – he liked to work hard. Because of this, it happened that he could overtrain, and this led to functional failures.
Friend and teammate Dmytro Pidruchny called Serhiy is one of the strongest athletes. A kind of Perpetuum mobile – eternal engine (lat.)
Build a process like a Swiss watch
Over the years, apparently, Semenov’s vision of many processes has changed. But he will definitely require his wards to work at their maximum, to achieve constant concentration and dedication, and that’s normal. Semenov should have respect in the team – after all, he is a titled biathlete, knows all the “entrances and exits”. And it is unlikely that anyone will be able to say about any “grandfather’s” methods or blame the old approaches. But let’s not forget that a great athlete is not always a great coach. This is an axiom that applies to various sports. In general, there are enough white spots.
Sergey Semenov
Getty Images
To what extent will the new coach be independent in making decisions, how long will he remain at the head of the team, what carte blanche does he have? We remember that a new Olympic cycle is starting. And here it is also important to guess with the coach from the first time and not to change him several times before the Olympics. Although we do not know about all the agreements of the new coach and the federation. Perhaps, it will be difficult for Serhii because he has somewhat moved away from Ukrainian realities. But in any case, it will be very interesting to watch Semenov’s ascension as a coach.
Oksana Khvostenko – her majesty is accurate
49-year-old Oksana Khvostenko – also a representative of biathlon Chernihiv. And also a legend of Ukrainian biathlon. She got off the track earlier than Semenov, but she practically never dropped out of biathlon. Its golden times fell on the period of the late 2000s, during the change of generations. Although there were times when one star generation took the place of another almost painlessly…
Oksana Khvostenko
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Twice silver and bronze medalist of the world championships. And in different disciplines – sprint, individual race, relay. In 2007, in Pokljuka, Slovenia, Khvostenko triumphantly won gold in the mass start at the World Cup. This is the highest personal award at the elite level.
The Khvostenko of that time was somehow similar to Semenov – she took shots. In the victorious mass start, she was accurate on all four firing lines. The rivals had several misses, but the advantage of the Ukrainian at the finish was not so obvious. The same applies to the bronze individual race at the 2008 WC in Östersund. This once again indicates the presence of the main quality of the Ukrainian sniper – accuracy, which compensated for the lack of speed. Somewhere subconsciously, we dream that Ms. Oksana will be able to instill the same accuracy in the current women’s team. Although it simply does not work.
Do not take the “mistakes of youth” into adult biathlon
Recently, we hear more and more about the young Victoria Khvostenko. She is the niece of the coach, a representative of the young wing of Ukrainian biathlon, to which Oksana Khvostenko devoted the previous years of her life. In general, the 2025/2026 season turned out to be positive for junior girls.
Will Khvostenko transfer this success to an adult team? Yes, so that immediately – unequivocally, no.
Oksana Khvostenko
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And considering the rejuvenated composition of the first team, it seems that not much will change in the coach’s work. Although it is clear that the “timing” will be different, the requirements will be more serious, and the stress will be much greater. The question remains as to how much influence Khvostenko will have as a coach on the current main star of the women’s team, Oleksandr Merkushina, and the experienced, titled prima Yuliya Jimu, who are declared for the “B” team, that is, the reserve team. In the matter of Merkushina, Jr., everything is more or less clear – her father, Oleg Merkushin, is listed as a coach there. And what will happen to Jima, who failed last season, – currently unknown.
The main cards in Khvostenko’s sleeve are experience, optimal coaching age, knowledge of Ukrainian biathlon inside and out, understanding of the level and capabilities of his wards. Oksana Yuriivna is intelligent, demanding, she is respected and sometimes “feared”. She will not give young people much freedom, but she will not be a strict teacher either. For some reason, the titled biathlete appears to be so wise and balanced on the coaching “exchange”.
Oksana Khvostenko
DeTalks
“I saw the girls’ potential, so I waited all the time,” – yes said Khvostenko in one of the interviews about biathletes of the junior team, who thanked the result for their patience. Perhaps this reflects her coaching philosophy. But will they be allowed to wait like this in the first team?
The “combat” acquaintance with the teams and the inspection is very soon – the national teams will start the first “engaging” training sessions. And then full-fledged, hard daily preparation for the season.
After the appointment of even such legendary personalities, we do not expect cascading ascents of Ukrainian biathletes here and now. Athletes who, for example, fought for the top 30, will not be able to consistently show off the podiums this season, there will not be so many stars to light up the biathlon sky.
But I really want to see the beginning of revival and the birth of something new. Even in the conditions in which the country lives today. And legends, we remind you, are not born. They become them. Proved by Oksana Khvostenko and Sergey Semenov.
Oksana Khvostenko and Serhiy Semenov during the “Race of Champions” in Chernihiv, 2018
biathlon.com.ua
