The Ukrainian national team of veterans, men and women, performed successfully at the Marine Corps & Air Force Trials 2026

From February 20 to March 3, the major veterans' competition Marine Corps & Air Force Trials 2026 took place in San Diego, California. It is an annual competition for US Marine Corps and Air Force service members and veterans that, for the American team, serves as a qualifying stage for the Warrior Games.

The Ukrainian team was invited as an international one together with the team of Great Britain to expand cooperation and exchange experience in the field of veterans' sport and recovery through sport.

The competition was held in wheelchair basketball and rugby, sitting volleyball, archery and shooting, indoor rowing, athletics, powerlifting, cycling and swimming.

First and foremost, the team went not for awards or achievements, but for the participants' recovery through sport. Nevertheless, at the competition in California it managed to win a considerable number of prize places.

In sitting volleyball the Ukrainian team took first place, and in wheelchair rugby — second. For our national team this is a first.

In swimming, indoor rowing and cycling, first places were won by Yaroslav Behas, Ivan Artiukh and Oksana Rudyk, and in powerlifting Artem Peredereiev came first. In archery Oleksandr Zirka took first place in the individual event. In the team event Oleksandr Zirka, Artem Peredereiev and Mariana Nitsevych won second place. Mariana Nitsevych also took second place in the individual competition.

In running, Oleksii Dernov took first place over 1500 metres. He also took third places over 800, 400, 200 and 100 metres. In cycling, Vadym Honcharenko and Oleksii Dernov finished second. In the shot put, Oleksandr Batalov and Vadym Honcharenko took first places. Oleksandr Batalov also came second in the discus throw.

The qualifying stage for forming the Ukrainian national team was the nationwide competition “HART” — the first national multisport competition for veterans, men and women, who were wounded, injured or fell ill during military service. It was among the 400 participants of this tournament that the national team for the Marine Corps & Air Force Trials 2026 was selected. These are 13 male and 2 female veterans.

The formation, training and participation of the Ukrainian national team are provided by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs of Ukraine together with the Come Back Alive initiatives centre. The general partner of the Ukrainian team is Ukrgasbank.

We would add that already in April the “HART” veterans' competition in wheelchair basketball starts in Lviv, preceded by a week-long camp for newcomers to this sport. We invite veterans, men and women, to take part in the tournament. Registration form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdQCmcejNST02gPuvrMr-Cax2fAP6iLGD7WkADLjpXQNAP9Vg/viewform