Osijek 2025 review: Malenovsky and Vadovicova lead Slovakia to the top

After five action-packed days, the 2025 WSPS European Championships concluded in Osijek, Croatia on Tuesday (7 October), crowning both first-time champions and household names. 

Slovakia enjoyed a memorable Championships. On day one, Radoslav Malenovsky set a new world record en rout to R1 gold, scoring 251.0 to surpass the previous two-year-old mark held by South Korea’s Park Jinho. 

“I knew from the beginning that I felt ok, I had no pressure on me. Everything worked perfectly and the world record, wow, for me it means even more than the medal,” Malenovsky said.

“It feels amazing because I wasn’t shooting this discipline for a few years, I decided for only three disciplines for the (Paralympic) Games. And I came back to this discipline and it feels amazing that I everything clicked and it worked so well.” 

Malenovsky followed his first R1 European title with a team gold alongside Paralympic legend Veronika Vadovicova on day two.

Vadovicova added two individual European golds to her collection, helping Slovakia top the medal standings with four titles. She claimed her first major international title in R8 since the 2018 World Championships in Cheongju, then returned the next day to successfully defend her R3 crown.

Serbia’s Dragan Ristic, another reigning Paralympic champion, topped the podium in the R9 - mixed 50m rifle prone SH2. Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop, the third Paralympic champion competing in Croatia, earned two silver medals in R6 and R8.

There were plenty of maiden titles in Osijek as well.

Azerbaijan celebrated its first-ever European title as Lima 2023 world champion Kamran Zeynalov edged Neutral Para Athlete Sergey Malyshev in a thrilling P1 final on closing day.

France’s veteran Jean-Louis Michaud claimed his first European title with victory in the R7, while Italy’s Gianluca Iacus joined the winners’ group with R5 gold.

In the vision impaired events, Poland’s Barbara Moskal dominated the VIS to defend her title from Granada 2024. Spain’s Ager Solabarrieta Txakartegi won the VIP, with Petar Jelakovic taking silver – the host nation’s only medal at the 2025 Euros.

Italy, Poland, Turkyie and Ukraine each topped the podium twice, while Azerbaijan, Czechia, France, Serbia, Spain and Sweden claimed one gold apiece.

Making no mistake 💯

🎯 With one shot to go, Ager Solabarrieta Txakartegi 🇪🇸 shows his skills in the VIP final to win gold at #Osijek2025 🥇#ShootingParaSport pic.twitter.com/gWVZ6liZLz

— Shooting Para Sport (@ShootingPara) October 7, 2025

Relive the European Championships finals on the ISSF YouTube channel.

All medallists from the Osijek 2025 WSPS European Championships:

Day One – 3 October

P3 – Mixed 25m Pistol SH1
Gold: Szymon Sowinski (Poland)
Silver: Oleksii Denysiuk (Ukraine)
Bronze: Sergey Malyshev (NPA)

R2 - Women's 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1 
Gold: Iryna Shchetnik (Ukraine) 
Silver: Anna Benson (Sweden)
Bronze: Veronika Vadovicova (Slovakia)

R1 - Men’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1
Gold: Radoslav Malenovsky (Slovakia)
Silver: Martin Black Joergensen (Denmark)
Bronze: Csaba Rescsik (Hungary)

R4 - Mixed 10m Air Rifle Standing SH2
Gold: Vitalii Plakushchyi (Ukraine)
Silver: Kevin Liot (France)
Bronze: Tommaso Starec (Italy)

Day Two – 4 October

P6 – Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol SH1
Gold: Murat Oguz and Aysel Ozgan (Turkyie)
Silver: Kamran Zeynalov and Aybaniz Babayeva (Azerbaijan)
Bronze: Oleksii Denysiuk and Iryna Liakhu (Ukraine)

R10 – Mixed Team 10m Air Pistol SH1
Gold: Radoslav Malenovsky and Veronika Vadovicova (Slovakia)
Silver: Andrii Doroshenko and : Iryna Shchetnik (Ukraine) 

Day Three – 5 October

VIS - Mixed 10m Air Rifle VI Standing 
Gold: Barbara Moskal (Poland)
Silver: Maria Sonia Rivero Fernandez (Spain)
Bronze: Ager Solabarrieta Txakartegi (Spain)

R8 - Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1
Gold: Veronika Vadovicova (Slovakia)
Silver: Natascha Hiltrop (Germany)
Bronze: Anna Benson (Sweden)

R7 - Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions SH1
Gold: Jean-Louis Michaud (France) 
Silver: Radoslav Malenovsky (Slovakia)
Bronze: Kasper Hjorth Lousdal (Denmark)

R5 - Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH2 
Gold: Gianluca Iacus (Italy)
Silver: Vasyl Kovalchuk (Ukraine)
Bronze: Kevin Liot (France)

Day Four – 6 October

P4 - Mixed 50m Pistol SH1
Gold: Davide Franceschetti (Italy)
Silver: Kamran Zeynalov (Azerbaijan)
Bronze: Sergey Malyshev (NPA)

R3 - Mixed 10m Air Rifle Prone SH1
Gold: Veronika Vadovicova (Slovakia)
Silver: Matt Skelhon (Great Britain)
Bronze Jan Winther (Denmark)

P5 - Mixed 10m Air Pistol Standard SH1 
Gold: Tomas Pesek (Czechia)
Silver: Stefan Amacker (Switzerland)
Bronze: Oleksii Denysiuk (Ukraine)

Day Five – 7 October

VIP - Mixed 10m Air Rifle VI Prone 
Gold: Ager Solabarrieta Txakartegi (Spain)
Silver: Petar Jelakovic (Croatia)
Bronze: Boguslaw Rutkowski (Poland)

R6 - Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH1
Gold: Anna Benson (Sweden)
Silver: Natascha Hiltrop (Germany)
Bronze: Kasper Hjorth Lousdal (Denmark)

P1 - Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1
Gold: Kamran Zeynalov (Azerbaijan)
Silver: Sergey Malyshev (NPA)
Bronze: Tomas Pesek (Czechia)

R9 - Mixed 50m Rifle Prone SH2
Gold: Dragan Ristic (Serbia)
Silver: Vasyl Kovalchuk (Ukraine)
Bronze: Kevin Liot (France)

P2 - Women's 10m Air Pistol SH1
Gold: Aysegul Pehlivanlar (Turkiye)
Silver: Aysel Ozgan (Turkiye)
Bronze: Nataliia Davydenko (Ukraine)