Ukrainian track and field athletes became the winners of the World Team Race Walking Championships. This happened thanks to the athletes' results in the half marathon.
The Ukrainian national team managed to win the team event thanks to the performance of three female athletes in the half marathon: all of the team's representatives finished in the top 10. The best result among Ukrainian women was demonstrated by Hanna Shevchuk, finishing seventh, Lyudmila Olyanovska became eighth, and Maria Sakharuk rounded out the top ten.
The inclusion of three athletes in the top 10 of the World Championship allowed the Ukrainian team to score 25 points in the team standings and ultimately overtake the Spanish team, whose athletes finished third and fourth.
According to the competition regulations, the team with the lowest total points among its three athletes wins the team event. Each place at the finish line is equivalent to the number of points added to the team event.
Team standings of the 2026 World Championships in race walking
- Ukraine — 25 points (7+8+10)
- Spain — 28 points (3+4+21)
- Australia — 30 points (5+11+14)
Thus, the Ukrainian national team won the World Team Race Walking Championship for the third time in its history. Before that, the “blue and yellow” won the team events at distances of 20 km and 50 km in 2014.
The half marathon is a new event on the World Race Walking Championships program. It has also been included in the list of disciplines for the 2028 Olympic Games, which will be held in Los Angeles, USA.
Among men, the best result was shown by Serhiy Svitlychnyi – 25th place. Mykola Ruschak finished 34th, and Ihor Glavan 74th. In the team competition, the men's team came in 12th.