Nikolai Zots and Nadezhda Belova to be dismissed after a disappointing Olympic season
The coaching staff of the national biathlon teams of Ukraine is set for radical changes. Following the results of the 2025/26 season, the head coaches of the men’s and women’s teams – Nadezhda Belova and Nikolai Zots – will be dismissed.
This was reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing Biathlonnews.
Decision made
According to sources, the leadership of the national federation has already made a principled decision to dismiss the specialists. It is expected that the official personnel changes will be approved during a coaching meeting scheduled for mid-April.
The names of the successors who will replace Zots and Belova at the helm of the main teams are currently not disclosed. The search for new coaches will take place against the backdrop of the need for a complete overhaul of preparations for the next Olympic cycle.
Anti-records and loss of quotas
The decision to dismiss comes as a result of an extremely unsuccessful 2025/26 season for Ukrainian biathlon at the senior level.
The main factors leading to the unsatisfactory evaluation of the coaches’ performance were:
- Lack of success in the World Cup: Ukrainian athletes finished the World Series season without a single medal.
- Loss of quotas: due to poor results in the Nations Cup, both teams lost the right to field five athletes in races – next season the quota will be reduced to four.
- Failure at the 2026 Olympics: at the main event of the four-year cycle, Ukrainians were unable to compete for high positions.
The best result in individual World Cup races among men was achieved by Dmytro Pidruchnyi (7th place in the pursuit at the Oberhof stage). Among women, the highest achievement of the season belongs to Oleksandra Merkushyna, who finished 14th in the final sprint in Holmenkollen.
