Injury before the main event: Oleksii Sereda showed the way to three medals

The athlete revealed the team's training, recovery, and life behind the scenes

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16 Sep 2026

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Олексій Середа під час підготовки до чемпіонату Європи зі стрибків у воду

Mykolaiv diver Oleksii Sereda published a new vlog on his YouTube channel about several days of preparation for the European Aquatics Championships. The athlete showed training, recovery after an injury, nutrition, trips, interaction with the team, and everyday life outside competitions.

Before going to the training camp Oleksii Sereda strained his abs. According to him, any load could worsen the condition, but he could not skip the championship because he considered it the most important start of the season.

At the beginning of the video the athlete explained the situation he found himself in:

I have only 10 days left to prepare for the European Championships. But there is one problem. I can’t dive.

The vlog lasts about an hour. At first the author shows a short selection of episodes from the following days, and then sequentially tells the story of the team’s path from the first training to the competitions.

The 2026 European Aquatics Championships were held in Paris from 31 July to 16 August. The continental championships are held once every two years. The tournament awarded 74 sets of medals in five sports:

swimming;
open water swimming;
synchronized swimming;
diving;
high diving.

Oleksii Sereda planned to compete in several disciplines at once:

in individual diving;
in synchronized diving together with Mark Hrytsenko;
in mixed synchronized diving with Ksenia Bailo;
in team events.

Before the start the athlete hoped that the pain would go away and allow him to complete the whole program:

I will have four events, if the abs is OK. And I really hope that the pain will stop and I will have time to prepare properly for the European Championships.

A large part of the video is devoted to the work that viewers usually do not see during broadcasts. Before dives the team warms up, trains in the gym, works on physical form and repeats individual elements. After that the athletes move to the pool where they practice dives and correct mistakes.

Oleksii Sereda did not cut out failed attempts from the vlog to show that during preparation the desired result does not always come on the first try.

Sometimes you come to training and can’t pull anything off at all, and sometimes, on the contrary, everything comes out very, very easily.

Separately, the athlete showed recovery after exertion. After training the team members perform physical exercises, stretch and prepare the body for the next session.

The vlog is not limited to sports episodes. The camera follows the team on trips, during joint meals and rest. Oleksii Sereda shows conversations and jokes with partners, as well as ordinary household situations between trainings.

The athlete also joked about what he does in his free time:

If you think that between trainings I just sleep and sit on TikTok, that’s usually the case. But there are days when I sit down and edit videos.

At the European Championships in Paris Oleksii Sereda won three medals. His results at the tournament:

Oleksii Sereda and Ksenia Bailo became European champions in the mixed synchronized 10-meter platform. The Ukrainian duo scored 323.16 points and beat athletes from Germany and Spain;
together with Mark Hrytsenko the Mykolaiv native took third place in synchronized 10-meter platform;
Oleksii Sereda, Ksenia Bailo, Kyrylo Boliukh and Ksenia Bochek won bronze in the mixed team event.

In the individual 10-meter platform final Oleksii Sereda finished in sixth place. The athlete explained that a mistake during one of the dives prevented him from entering the prize top three, but overall he assessed his performance positively.

During the same championship the organization European Aquatics for the second time named Oleksii Sereda the best athlete of Europe 2025 in diving.

The new vlog shows the everyday work behind international starts and medals: regular training, repeated practice of elements, physical loads, recovery, fatigue, failed attempts and the team’s ordinary life.