Speed meets strength in a unique test of endurance.
On August 16, athletes in Ivano-Frankivsk lined up for a one-of-a-kind event: a cross-triathlon on a super-sprint course (300 m swim – 5 km bike – 3 km run), followed by a bench press challenge. Competitors first raced against the clock on the course, then after a 10-minute recovery, moved to the barbell: 80 kg for men, 40 kg for women.
Every successful lift slashed 10 seconds off the athlete’s overall time, while masters aged 40+ earned an extra 10-second bonus for each year above 40.

The Men’s Race
The triathlon portion saw local hero Oleh Ozorko (Ivano-Frankivsk) take the tape first, narrowly ahead of fellow Frankivsk athlete Denys Marchuk, just 10 seconds back. Another Frankivsk competitor, Andrii Hrytsanchuk, came in third. The top five also featured Ivan Oleksieienko (Dnipro) and Dmytro Botyhin (Ivano-Frankivsk) — all under the age of 40.

Then came the strength showdown. Ozorko produced a commanding 11 clean bench presses, carving an additional 1 minute 50 seconds off his time and sealing overall victory. Marchuk managed four lifts to secure silver. For Hrytsanchuk, the third-place finisher in the triathlon, no valid presses were recorded — yet his early pace still kept him on the podium for bronze.

Powerlifting prowess reshaped the rankings further: Ivan Krykun (Dnipro), who set the bench press benchmark, surged to fourth overall, overtaking triathlon-only finishers Dmytro and Valerii. In total, 20 men competed, nine of whom completed the lifts, with three more gaining age bonuses in the 40+ division.

The Women’s Race
Among the women, Anastasiia Oleksyn (Kalush) completed the triathlon but had no valid bench press attempts, leaving the crown uncontested in her division.

The full official race protocol is available in the Results section via the provided link.