Andrii Mandzii posted the best result in Ukraine’s Olympic history in men’s singles luge on Monday, finishing 12th at the 2026 Winter Games after four runs.
Mandzii’s total time of 3:34.774 set a new national record in the event and marked the first time a Ukrainian athlete has finished inside the top 20 in men’s singles luge at the Olympics.
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Teammate Anton Dukach also delivered a strong performance, finishing 16th overall with a combined time of 3:35.204, giving Ukraine two athletes inside the top 20 for the first time in the discipline.
Both Ukrainians were in contention throughout the competition. After the first two runs, Dukach ranked 12th and Mandzii 14th. Mandzii improved his position in the third run to move into 13th, while Dukach slipped to 17th but remained among the top 20 athletes who advanced to the super final.
In the decisive fourth run, both Ukrainians recorded their fastest times of the competition. Dukach completed the course in 53.556 seconds, while Mandzii followed in 53.601.
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Germany’s Max Langenhan won the gold medal, leading all four runs and finishing with a total time of 3:31.191. Austria’s Jonas Mueller took silver, 0.596 seconds back, and Italy’s Dominik Fischnaller claimed bronze, 0.934 seconds behind the winner.
Ukraine has competed in luge at every Olympic Games but has yet to win a medal in the sport. The country’s best Olympic results remain two sixth-place finishes by Liliia Ludan in women’s singles at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games and the 2006 Turin Games.
Until Monday, Ukraine’s top result in men’s singles luge was Dukach’s 22nd-place finish at the 2022 Winter Olympics.
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