Our diver secured the 4th position following the final voting held in Istanbul during the General Assembly of the European Olympic Committees. The first place was shared between Turkey’s representative Kuzey Tunçelli (swimming) and Germany’s Darja Varfolomeev (artistic gymnastics).

“I thank the EOC for the support. Today, I can stand here in front of you because of the assistance that the Ukrainian team received after the full-scale war began in our country in February 2022. Of course, Paris 2024 is my goal, but I also have a dream and believe that it will come true. This dream is about an independent, free, and flourishing Ukraine! Glory to Ukraine,” noted the 16-year-old athlete during his speech.

The Piotr Nurowski Prize was initiated by the European Olympic Committees in 2011. Boliukh became the third Ukrainian athlete in summer sports to reach the final of this prestigious award.

It is worth to remind that in 2023, the athlete won the silver at the World Championships in synchronized platform diving, earning a spot for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. He also became a two-time champion at the III European Games in synchronized platform diving and mixed-gender synchronized platform diving.

We congratulate Kirill and are proud of him!

On the eve of the Day of Physical Culture and Sports in the capital of Ukraine, ceremonies were held to honour athletes and coaches.

It’s pleasing to note that even the divers were honoured with honorary awards and orders.

For their outstanding sports achievements at the III European Games in Krakow (Republic of Poland), demonstrating dedication and the will to win, and enhancing Ukraine’s international reputation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky honoured them with state awards:

Ksenia Baylo, Anna Pysmenska – Order of Princess Olga, 3rd class

Kirill Boliukh, Oleg Kolodi, Oleksiy Sereda – Order “For Merit,” 3rd class

Sofia Esman – Medal “For Labor and Victory.”

The Mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, presented Honorary Diplomas to Ksenia Baylo and Kirill Boliukh and their coaches – Vice President of the Diving Federation of Ukraine Tamara Tokmachova and the head coach of the Ukrainian national diving team Illia Tseliutin.

Congratulations to our athletes and coaches on their prestigious awards, and we are proud of their achievements!

The European Junior Diving Championships in Rieti turned out to be a triumph for the Ukrainian team. They earned a total of 10 medals, including 7 gold, 1 silver, and 2 bronze. This accomplishment allowed our team to lead the overall team standings among all 25 participating countries on the continent. An incredible result that will undoubtedly become part of our sports history!

The champions and medalists are as follows:

1st place – Danilo Avanesov, Kyrylo Azarov, Karina Hlyzhina, Mark Hrytsenko (mixed team event)

1st place – Karina Hlyzhina (3m springboard, Group B)

1st place – Diana Shevchenko and Alisa Meshkova (synchronized diving, platform)

1st place – Kyrylo Azarov and Maksym Mirza (synchronized diving, 3m springboard)

1st place – Mark Hrytsenko (3m springboard, Group B)

1st place – Karina Hlyzhina (platform, Group B)

1st place – Danilo Avanesov (platform, Group A)

2nd place – Mark Hrytsenko (platform, Group B)

3rd place – Kyrylo Azarov (3m springboard, Group A)

3rd place – Sofiia Vystavkina (platform, Group B).

Igor Lysov, President of the Diving Federation of Ukraine, expressed sincere gratitude to the tournament organizers for their hospitality, to Vadym Gutzeit, the head of the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine, and the National Olympic Committee for their support and cooperation.

And, of course, he extended thanks to our best coaches who love their work, live for it, and contribute to the sporting glory of Ukraine, as well as to our young athletes for their fighting spirit and desire for victory!

The Superfinal of the Diving World Cup, where the top 18 athletes in individual disciplines and the top 8 in synchronized events participated, concluded in Berlin, Germany.

It’s worth noting that all six Ukrainians who participated in this year’s stages in Sian, China, and Montreal, Canada, qualified for the Superfinal. They were Oleksii Sereda, Kirill Boliukh, Kseniia Bailo, Sofiia Esman, Oleh Kolodii, and Danilo Konovalov, who earned the opportunity to compete against the world’s best divers.

In Berlin, Oleksii Sereda once again showcased his high skill, securing second place in platform diving. In synchronization with Kirill Boliukh, the Ukrainian pair came very close to another medal but narrowly missed the podium.

Overall, our athletes managed to secure 3 silver and 1 bronze medal in this year’s stages. The medalists were:

“Silver” – Oleksii Sereda (platform, Sian)

“Silver” – Oleksii Sereda (platform, Superfinal, Berlin)

“Silver” – Oleksii Sereda and Kirill Boliukh (platform, synchronized, Montreal)

“Bronze” – Oleksii Sereda and Kirill Boliukh (platform, synchronized, Sian).

The Superfinal in Berlin marked the concluding tournament for the main diving team in this season.

Top 5! The Ukrainian diving team secured the 5th place in the overall team standings at the World Championship! We haven’t achieved such a result in 25 years! The team climbed higher only in 1998 when it won 2 gold medals and entered the top 3!

Our achievements at this year’s championship: “silver” in synchronized platform diving, won by Oleksii Sereda and Kirill Boliukh, and 2 licenses for the Olympic Games: platform, men, and platform, synchronized, men!

Ukrainians participated in 4 finals, demonstrating the following results: Kseniia Bairo and Kirill Boliukh – 4th place in mixed-gender synchronized platform diving; Oleksii Sereda – 6th place in platform diving; Kseniia Bailo and Sofiia Esman – 9th place in synchronized platform diving; Danylo Konovalov – 11th place on the 1m springboard!

For the fifth time in history, Ukrainians conclude the World Championship with a “silver” achievement!

Thanks to the entire team for the shown result; despite any difficulties and obstacles, you represent the country on the world stage, and the blue and yellow flag proudly waves on the global arenas!

Thanks to all the fans who passionately support each athlete!

Ukrainians – a nation of winners!

17-year-old Oleksii Sereda and 16-year-old Kirill Boliukh open the medal count for Ukraine at the World Aquatics Championships in the Japanese city of Fukuoka!

Having passed the qualification round with the 4th result (404.22 points), the guys understood that only a podium finish would guarantee them the coveted license for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In the final, they managed to perform their program flawlessly, becoming silver medalists of the competition with a record total score (439.32 points), conceding only to the representatives of China.

While this is the second world championship medal for Oleksii, it is the first in Kirill’s career!

The last time Ukrainians won a medal in this discipline at the World Championship was in 2011, and the “silver” was 20 years ago, in 2003.

President of the Diving Federation of Ukraine, Igor Lysov, congratulated the team and the entire coaching staff on their brilliant performance and the acquisition of an Olympic license!

The medalists of the World Championship dedicated their award to our defenders. “We want to dedicate our medal to all the armed forces of Ukraine who defend our country, thanks to whom we have the opportunity to compete. Thank you very much. We love you, and we believe in you!”

In Jezk, the competitions in diving at the III European Games have come to an end. Ukrainian athletes made a spectacular finish, winning gold medals in synchronized 3-meter springboard diving.

Oleh Kolodiy and Danylo Konovalov, who began competing together only this year and at the European Games, which also serves as the European Championship, set a record score for themselves – 410.16, becoming the champions.

President of the Diving Federation of Ukraine, Igor Lysov, congratulated the team on the brilliant end to the tournament, as the 4 gold medals allowed our team to take the 1st overall team place.

In total, Ukrainian divers managed to win 5 medals at the European Games: 4 gold and 1 silver among 25 countries on the continent.

Our medalists:

“Gold”

Oleksiy Sereda, Kseniia Bailo, Danylo Konovalov, Anna Pysmenska (mixed team)

Oleksiy Sereda and Kiril Boliukh (synchronized, platform)

Kiril Boliukh and Kseniia Bailo (mixed pair synchronized diving, platform)

Oleh Kolodiy and Danylo Konovalov (synchronized, 3-meter springboard)

“Silver”:

Kseniia Bailo and Sofia Esman (synchronized, platform)

On June 22 in Jezk, divers entered the battle for medals at the III European Games.

127 athletes from 25 countries will compete for tournament awards and 4 Olympic licenses in individual disciplines: 3m springboard (men, women) and platform (men, women).

The Ukrainian diving team is represented by 10 athletes: Kyrylo Azarov, Kseniia Bailo, Kiril Boliukh, Sofia Esman, Oleh Kolodiy, Danylo Konovalov, Yevhen Naumenko, Stanislav Oliferchyk, Anna Pysmenska, Oleksii Sereda.

On the first competitive day, medals were contested in mixed team events. Representing our country were Oleksiy Sereda, Kseniia Bailo, Danylo Konovalov, Anna Pysmenska. From the first dive, Ukrainians seized the lead and did not concede victory to anyone until the final 6th.

438.30 points – the result of the champions. The “gold” of our divers became historical, as our athletes had never before stood on the highest step of the podium at the European Games or won 1st place in team competitions in the new format of the European Championship.

Ukrainians managed to outperform the defending champions of the continental championship, the Italians (398.25 points), by 40.05 points. The Spanish team took third place with 381.45 points.

“I can’t say that this medal is unexpected for me; I saw that we had chances. We made all our dives and, therefore, won the gold medal. I felt that we would become champions when I performed my individual dive,” shared Oleksiy Sereda. “We are all happy that we won. This is a good start for us at these European Games. We are proud of our incredible country and unbroken people. Thanks to everyone for the support. We dedicate this victory to our Armed Forces of Ukraine. They do a lot for us, so we will dedicate all our awards to them and our entire country, because thanks to the soldiers, we have the opportunity to compete and win medals for the country.”

During the press conference, Oleksiy Sereda once again reminded that the war in Ukraine is ongoing, and all athletes are preparing amid constant sounds of air raids and shelling. He called on the sports community to continue the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes from competitions, as each of them is involved in the bloody war in Ukraine.

It is worth noting that the diving competition will continue until June 28.

For 4 days in Dresden, Germany, the International Youth Diving Tournament took place.

Over 150 participants aged 2008-2009 (Group B) and 2005-2007 (Group A) from 20 countries around the world tested their abilities at the beginning of the season.

The Ukrainian team was represented by 7 athletes, who managed to win 4 medals – one gold and three silver:

🥇Mark Hrytsenko – platform (Group B)

🥈Mark Hrytsenko – 3m springboard (Group B)

🥈Diana Shevchenko – platform (Group B)

🥈Marko Barsukov – platform (Group A).

Thanks to our young athletes for their competition and demonstrated sportsmanship.

The Ukrainian national diving team has kicked off the new season under the guidance of the newly appointed head coach, Honored Coach of Ukraine Illia Tseliutin.

Despite his young age, Illia Tseliutin already boasts a 9-year coaching experience directly with divers and holds esteem among both athletes and coaches. His coaching achievements speak for themselves, as his protégés consistently climb the podiums of the most prestigious international tournaments.

Ilya Tseluytin is the personal coach of World and European Championship medalists Oleksandr Gorshkovozov and Oleр Kolodiy, European Champion Anna Pismenska, World Championship medalist, European Champion, and Youth Olympic Games medalist Sofia Lyskun, European Champion, World and European Junior Championships medalist Kseniia Bailo, European Championship medalist, World Junior Championships champion Kiril Bolyukh, as well as World and European Junior Championships champion Kyrylo Azarov.

According to the head coach, the main event this year is the World Championship in Japan, and the team’s goal is to secure licenses for the Olympic Games in Paris 2024. Additionally, the European Games will take place in the summer, where divers will compete for medals. Currently, the European Swimming League (LEN) is awaiting approval from the International Swimming Federation (WA) regarding the continental championship, where athletes will have the opportunity to vie for 4 individual Olympic licenses.

It’s worth noting that the main roster of the Ukrainian national diving team includes 20 athletes (13 men and 7 women).