Pavlo Bal and Vasyl Kravchuk won eight medals together: 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze.
Italy hosted two stages of the World Cup in cross-country skiing and biathlon among athletes with musculoskeletal disorders. On January 24-28, the para athletes competed in Tobla, and from January 31 to February 4 – in Martel.
“Representatives of Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan, Georgia, Spain, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Korea, the United States, Japan, and Sweden competed for the championship. Athletes from Lviv region Pavlo Bal and Vasyl Kravchuk won eight medals between them, including 2 gold, 4 silver and 2 bronze,” said Roman Khimyak, head of the Youth and Sports Department of the Lviv Regional Military Administration.
Pavlo Bal won four medals at the first stage of the World Cup.
On January 24, a 10 km race with a separate start took place. Pavlo Bal took 2nd place and Vasyl Kravchuk took 10th. This race was attended by 29 participants from 11 countries.
On January 25, Pavlo took 2nd place in the 10 km mass start race, and Vasyl finished fifth. The race was attended by 24 participants from 11 countries.
On January 27, a 1.2 km sprint took place. In the final race, Pavlo Bal finished third. Vasyl Kravchuk did not make it to the final race and took 7th place in the semifinals. In total, 32 participants from 12 countries competed in this discipline.
On January 28, a 5 km race with a separate start took place. Pavlo took third place and Vasyl finished sixth. There were 30 athletes from 12 countries.
At the second stage of the World Cup, Pavlo Bal won two medals and Vasyl Kravchuk won two.
On January 31, a 1.2 km sprint cross-country skiing race took place. Two of our athletes competed in the final race: Pavlo Bal took first place and Vasyl Kravchuk finished sixth. There were 32 participants from 12 countries.
On February 1, a 7.5 km sprint parabiathlon race was held. Pavlo Bal won the silver medal. Vasyl Kravchuk finished fourth. This race was attended by 17 participants from 8 countries.
On February 3, a 3.9 km sprint persuasion parabatlon race was held. Vasyl Kravchuk took 2nd place in the final race. A total of 14 participants from 6 countries competed.
On February 4, a 10 km parabiathlon race was held with a separate start and penalty laps. Vasyl Kravchuk won the gold medal. In total, 14 participants from 6 countries competed in this discipline.
Both skiers are representatives of the Lviv Regional Center “Invasport”. Pavlo Bal trains under the guidance of Bohdan Dobransky, and Vasyl Kravchuk trains under Volodymyr Lyubizhanin.
By the way, Pavlo Bal is the hero of one of the episodes of the video series “THE RETURN”. This is a series of stories about medalists and participants of the most prestigious international competitions among veterans, the Invictus Games and other world competitions among people with disabilities. The film was produced jointly with the Panorama Production team as part of the Invictus League, a project of sporting opportunities for military and veterans implemented by the Youth and Sports Department of the Lviv Regional Military Administration.