Ukrainian figure skaters win silver at world junior championships for first time in 25 years

At the 2025 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, Ukrainian skaters Sofia Golichenko and Artem Darensky claimed the silver medal, earning the title of vice-champions.

As reported by Suspilne Sport, the pair competed in the final day of the championships on March 1 in Debrecen, Hungary. In the pairs free skate, Golichenko and Darensky scored 106.66 points—51.33 for technical elements and 55.33 for presentation.

This was the duo's first time competing together at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships. In the short program, they scored 57.40 points, securing second place and advancing to the free skate, where they maintained their strong performance to win silver.

In the overall standings, Sofia Golichenko and Artem Darensky earned a total of 164.06 points, securing the silver medal.

This marks their first silver medal at the Junior World Championships level. The Ukrainian duo finished second, trailing behind Georgia's Anastasia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who claimed gold with a 26.95-point lead.

These silver medals mark Ukraine's first awards at the Junior World Championships in two years. Additionally, this is the first time in 25 years that Ukrainian skaters have finished second at this competition.

The last time Ukraine achieved this feat was in 2000, when the country dominated the podium:

• Aliona Savchenko and Stanislav Morozov won gold,
• Yulia Obertas and Dmytro Palamarchuk took silver.

For Sofia Holichenko and Artem Darensky, this silver medal is their third international podium finish this season. Earlier, they claimed silver at the Junior Grand Prix stage in Gdansk and bronze at the Olympic test tournament.

Moreover, for the first time in 26 years, Ukraine had top-four finishes in two disciplines at the Junior World Championships. In addition to Golichenko and Darensky's silver in pairs, Iryna Pidhaina and Artem Koval secured fourth place in ice dancing.