A candidate for master of sports and holder of a black belt (1st dan), Mykola Yaremchuk began practicing karate at the age of six. He competed successfully in kumite (contact matches) in the 60 kg and 67 kg categories. In 2016, he became the silver medalist at the Ukrainian Junior Championship. He also participated in kata (demonstration routines).
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he focused on coaching at his home club “Dzammai” in Chernivtsi. He also completed his bachelor’s degree in Physical Education at Chernivtsi National University.
“He was on the podium almost everywhere,” says Mykola’s coach, Sviatoslav Sidlyarchuk. “When he became a coach himself, he was able to connect with every child.”
In the fall, the 22-year-old Mykola Yaremchuk volunteered to go to the front. He served in the 80th Airborne Brigade and had the call sign “Yarem.” His parents say that Mykola enlisted as a volunteer after his older brother Pavlo joined the army in the early days of the full-scale invasion.
He was the commander of a platoon of paratroopers.
He died on February 12 in battle near Bakhmut.