Lviv athlete Yurii Kovalchuk, a trainee of the Olympic Training Centre and graduate of the Ivan Boberskyi Lviv State University of Physical Culture, distinguished himself at the third stage of the UIPM 2026 Modern Pentathlon World Cup. In Budapest (Hungary) he claimed the bronze medal and set a world record in the laser run discipline.
The competition took place from 8 to 13 June. In the final discipline of the tournament, the laser run (running and shooting), on 13 June Yurii Kovalchuk covered the distance in 9 minutes 58.580 seconds and scored the maximum 702 points. This result has been officially added to the list of world records of the International Modern Pentathlon Union (UIPM).
Before the start of the laser run, the athlete, who trains under the guidance of Oleh Fialkovych, Vitalii Tarnakin, Andrii Orlikovskyi, Dmytro Kirpulianskyi and Andrii Kovalchuk (head of the Department of Shooting and Technical Sports), was only in 13th place among the finalists. Thanks to his record-breaking performance in the final discipline, he managed a powerful surge in the overall standings and climbed to the third step of the podium.
This performance is particularly valuable because it was the record-setting laser run that secured the Ukrainian a place on the podium of honour. Before the start of the final discipline, the pupil of the coaches was only in 13th place among the finalists, but a brilliant finish enabled him to produce a remarkable breakthrough and win bronze — Department of Sport, Youth and Tourism of the Regional State Administration
The Ukrainian national team also performed successfully. It included Yurii Kovalchuk (Lviv region), as well as Kyiv athletes Oleksandr Tovkai and Maksym Agarushev. The Ukrainian team won the team standings of the third stage of the World Cup.
Second place in the team standings went to the German national team, and third to the French team.