He began training at longer distances after leaving the reserves, and found he could compete with the fastest runners in his nation.

In 2001, he ran in the Wachau Half Marathon in Krems, Austria, the course of which follows the Danube River and draws strong competition.

[1] The time would stand as a personal best, although he would come close to breaking it at the Carlsbad Half Marathon, when he ran 1:04:40 for a second-place finish behind Ibrahim Mohamed Aden.

[3] That fall, he won the Kleine Zeitung Graz Marathon, pushing his personal best to a faster 2:15:28.

He ran with the lead pack as the heat increased, and eventually sped past former Olympian Mindaugas Pukštas and several international competitors to win the Baltimore Marathon in 2:15:40.

[11] In September of 2006, Antonenko ran in the Ukrainian 10K National Championship race in Slavyansk, Ukraine.

He won the race and earned the title of “Master of Sports of International Class.”[citation needed] Then in October, he returned to Baltimore.

Antonenko started running and at by the age of 15 began competing in shorter distances around the country.

Later in life, as he competed internationally, he lived in Donyetsk and trained in the Western Caucasus Mountains.