Inside Ukraine's gymnastics team: A complete roster and more to know about 2024 Olympics team

Oleg Verniaiev is returning to the Olympics for the first time since 2016. He missed the 2021 Summer Games while serving a suspension for a positive drug test, but the 30-year-old will now get a chance to compete on gymnastics' biggest stage once again.

While Verniaiev is excited about making the 2024 Olympics, he isn't entirely focused on medaling. He has been adamant about using his platform to advocate for the people of Ukraine and bring continued awareness to the war they have been fighting since Russia invaded the territory in February 2022.

"We come here not only for sport," Verniaiev told reporters Wednesday, per Reuters. "Of course, it's our first job but every day in my country, people die, animals die, buildings are broken — sport buildings, civilian buildings."

"It's not possible to explain to you what's happening," he added. "You need to come to understand."

As such, the gymnastics finals seem comparatively trivial for the Ukrainian team. Still, the team hopes to earn a victory for its country and make it to the podium for the first time since 2000.

Here's what to know about the Ukrainian men's gymnastics team as they compete for gold at the 2024 Olympics.

MORE: Updated scores, winners, results for men's, women's gymnastics events at 2024 Olympics

Ukraine men's gymnastics roster at 2024 Olympics

The Ukrainian men's gymnastics team is comprised of five gymnasts, like all teams are for the 2024 Olympics in Paris. They are as follows:

• Nazar Chepurnyi
• Illia Kovtun
• Igor Radivilov
• Radomyr Stelmakh
• Oleg Verniaiev

Here's what to know about each of the gymnasts representing Ukraine.

Nazar Chepurnyi

Chepurnyi is a 21-year-old athlete competing in his first Olympics. He has a strong, all-around game that helped him guide Ukraine to a gold medal at the 2024 European Championships, but his best event is the vault.

Chepurnyi is the reigning vault bronze medalist from the 2023 World Championships. He earned the same honors at the 2024 European Championships and qualified first for the men's event finals on the apparatus with a score of 14.833.

Chepurnyi performed on every apparatus but the ring during qualifying, so he figures to be an important part of Ukraine's rotations in the team final.

Illia Kovtun

Like Chepurnyi, Kovtun is appearing in his first Olympics. He's 20 years old but has established himself as a legitimate all-around threat who should be in the medal mix in Paris.

Kovtun thrives in several disciplines, which is why he has earned bronze and silver medals in the all-around at the World Championships in 2021 and 2023 respectively. He also was Ukraine's top performer at the 2024 European Championships, earning three gold medals in the team competition and on both the horizontal and parallel bars.

Kovtun will compete in the floor exercise and parallel bars event finals while also looking to help Ukraine make the podium in the team competition. He performed on all six apparatuses during qualifying, and he may do the same during Monday's team final.

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Igor Radivilov

Radivilov is participating in his fourth Olympics. He debuted at the 2012 London Olympics when he was 19 and will now participate in the 2024 Paris Olympics at age 31.

Radivilov has one Olympic medal to his name — a bronze he earned in London on the vault. He has also won five gold medals at the European Championships: two in the team competition, two on the vault and one on the rings in 2013.

Radivilov is best known for landing a vault that featured a handspring triple front somersault at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He couldn't quite stick the landing of the move — which had a 7.000 difficulty score, the highest possible for any move — but it became his eponymous move nonetheless. It has since been banned by the International Gymnastics Federation given the injury risk associated with the manuever.

Ukraine appears to be using Radivilov as a specialist. He performed only on the rings and the vault in qualifying. He placed third on the vault with a 14.900, indicating he is a medal threat on that apparatus, while his rings score of 14.166 was good for 15th overall.

Expect Radivilov to perform in those two disciplines during the team final while he hopes to challenge Chepurnyi for gold on the vault.

Radomyr Stelmakh

Stelmakh is the youngest member of the Ukrainian team at just 18 years old. He began his senior gymnastics career in 2023 and has since enjoyed a rapid rise to become part of Ukraine's national team.

Stelmakh was part of the gold medal-winning squad at the 2024 European Championships. That remains his lone senior gold medal to date, but he is hoping to pad his resume early in his career in Paris.

Stelmakh didn't qualify for any individual event finals, but he performed on every apparatus but the vault during qualifying. Ukraine will rely on him to post solid marks on the parallel bars, where he qualified 15th with a 14.600, and on the pommel horse (20th place, 14.033) to boost its overall team score.

Strong performances from the young Stelmakh could help lift Ukraine onto the podium in Paris for the first time since the 2000 Olympics.

Oleg Verniaiev

Verniaiev is returning to the Olympic stage after he missed the 2021 Summer Games while serving a years-long suspension for a positive drug test. The 30-year-old is one of Ukraine's most decorated gymnasts, having earned nine gold medals at the Olympics, World Championships and European Championships.

Verniaiev finished second all-around at the 2016 Olympics to earn a silver medal. He also logged the best score on the parallel bars to earn an Olympic gold.

Verniaiev performed on all six apparatuses during qualifying and should do so again during the team competition. He is a legitimate threat to medal in three events after placing top-five on the vault, rings and pommel horse during qualifying.

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History of Ukraine men's gymnastics teams in the Olympics

Ukraine has appeared in the Olympics six times in the country's history. All have come since 1996, as the country declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991 but still participated under their banner at the 1992 Olympics.

The Ukrainian men have medaled twice in their country's history, earning a bronze medal in 1996 and a silver medal in 2000. They still have not won a gold medal as a team, though four Ukrainian men have won gold individually since 1996.

Below is a look at Ukraine's team results by Olympics:

Below is a look at their individual medal wins dating back to 1996: