Orienteering | Two Big Ears

Tokyo 2025 – Ukraine Dominate Both Men’s and Women’s Sprint Orienteering

What an explosive start to the Deaflympics in Tokyo — not just in the men’s race, but across the women’s field too. Orienteering opened the Games with back-to-back masterclasses from Team Ukraine, who didn’t just impress… they owned the podiums.

Ukraine stormed the first event of the Games with a perfect 1–2–3 finish.

Gold: Nazar Levytskyi – 12:57
Silver: Dmytro Levin – 13:54
Bronze: Volodymyr Fedoseienko – 14:00

It was a commanding performance, setting the tone for Ukraine’s campaign.

Then the women stepped up — and delivered something just as breathtaking.

Ukraine didn’t just win. They swept the entire podium again.

Gold: Anna Vanasaun – 11:57
Silver: Hanna Fedosieieva – 12:16
Bronze: Hanna Androsovych – 12:40

All three were sharp, fast, and utterly fearless on the Tokyo course. Finland’s Sara-Elise Ruokonen and Lithuania’s Adrija Atgalaine chased hard, but Ukraine’s trio were simply untouchable.

Two events.
Two podium sweeps.
Six medals — all Ukrainian.

If today is any indication, Ukraine’s orienteering squad is here not just to compete, but to set the pace for the entire Deaflympics.

Tokyo 2025 has only just begun, and already the storylines are electric. More results, more drama, and more phenomenal athletic performances are on the way.

Two Big Ears raises the question about the appointment of a Russian citizen as TD for orienteering

ICSD have just announced the latest list of ICSD Technical Directors for Deaf sports.

We draw your attention to the continued appointment of the TD for Orienteering who is a Russian citizen.

This post is not questioning the competency of the TD themselves, they are capable of their job.

We are questioning the lack of judgement and consistency of ICSD decision making with regards to the ban of Russian and Belarussian athletes and officials from international sport.

We assume that ICSD orienteering is run under the rules of the International Orienteering Federation (IOF) and according to the IOF website:

“Can a IOF Event Advisor from Russia/Belarus be appointed as an Event Advisor for an event in another Federation?” The answer is “No”.

The role of an ICSD Technical Director operates in the capacity of an ‘Events Advisor’ to the organising committee of the ICSD Deaflympics and World Championships.

We suggest that the ICSD member countries should ask the ICSD Legal Commission to review this appointment and satisfy the international Deaf community that it is operating within the parameters of the international ban and it’s own commitments and obligations to that ban.

Screenshots of the IOF website are available below