In 2012, Holivets entered the European Championships in Stadskanaal in the Netherlands. There he competed in the F12 shot put, recording a distance of 15.52m which gave him his first major gold medal. Holivets competed in his first Paralympic Games at London in 2012. He competed in the shot put, in the joint F11/F12 event. He threw a distance of 16.25m, converting to 991 points, enough to beat his nearest rival, Russia's Vladimir Andryushchenko into second place.