Ukraine's Olena Chynka claimed five gold medals at the World Para Dance Sport season-opener in Cujik ©Roman Benicky/World Para Dance Sport

Five-time European champion Olena Chynka claimed five gold medals at the World Para Dance Sport season-opener in Cujik in the Netherlands.

The Ukrainian struck gold in the women’s freestyle and standard class two, also triumphing in the duo standard, freestyle and Latin class two alongside team-mate Oleksandr Onishchenko.

It was Chynka's first competition since she took five golds at the 2018 European Championships in Lomianki in Poland last November.

Her success in Cujik helped Ukraine lead the medal standings with 11 gold medals.

Illona Slugovyna earned three of these, winning the duo freestyle and standard class one together with Valerii Bevziuk, and the women’s standard class one individually.

Bevziuk also topped the podium in the combi freestyle class one with partner Veronika Pedchenko.


Ukraine's remaining gold medals came through Snizhana Kernychina in the women’s freestyle class one and Svitlana Onopa in the combi freestyle class two. 

Belarus and Kazakhstan achieved three golds each. 

For Belarus, Hannah Harchakova and Roman Usmanov were the victors in the combi standard class two, Hanna Siratsiuk and Ihar Kuliashou won the combi Latin class one and Irina Makeichyk and Yauhen Yarmoshka were successful in the combi standard class one. 

Kazakhstan’s Asian champion Yermek Kalymbetov followed up his win at the Beigang Open in Chinese Taipei last October with two golds in the men’s standard and freestyle class two.

The Kazakh duo of Nargiza Akmetova and Serzh Avanessov then added their country's third gold in the combi Latin class two.

Some 85 Para dancers from 15 countries participated in the three-day competition.