Æóðíàë Viche 2010 ¹15

¹15, 2010

Power doesn’t Glorify the Country, Sport Glorifies the Country!

August 1991…  

On August, 24 the Verkhovna Rada of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic solemnly proclaims the independence of Ukraine and the creation of the independent Ukrainian state. Subsequent to the results of the referendum which took place on December, 1 Ukraine grew into the equal in rights subject of international relations on December, 2. Its existence was acknowledged by Poland and Canada, and then by other countries of the world.

And until then for more than three months for the whole world our young state was only the part of former USSR. In this regard remarkable water sports championship of Europe (on August, 18–25, 1991, Athens) accepted Pavlo Khnykin (1-st place in the relay swimming) and Svitlana Bondarenko (“silver” of the championship) as members of team of the Soviet Union... Prizewinners came back to already independent Ukraine.

Honour of the USSR was protected by the participants of the XV world free calisthenics championship also in Athens on October, 9–13, 1991. Our compatriots Oksana Skaldina and Oleksandr Tymoshenko took almost the whole set of gold and silver rewards in an individual all-round. However, again on public – for the Union

Tension in internal political opposition and at the same time aspiration to strengthen positions at the international scene, unfortunately, did not approach Ukrainian authorities to approve national sport. Ukrainian sportsmen, citizens of Ukraine, continued to defend the honour of gone USSR.

At the XVI winter Olympic Games of 1992 in Alberville (France) two Ukrainians – Oleksiy Zhytnyk (hockey) and Victor Petrenko (figure-skating), – being in the composition of the team of the USSR, won Olympic “gold”.

 At the XXV Olympic Games 15 Ukrainian sportsmen became Olympic champions in Barcelona (in 1992 the Olympic Games were conducted in one year with Winter Olympiad for last the time). 10 sportsmen got silver rewards and 9 sportsmen received bronze. 

Bronze prizewinner of Olympiad in American Atlanta Olena Vitrychenko (calisthenics) in 1997 received the title of absolute champion of Europe in an all-round, won Student Games and became the absolute champion of the world for the first time.

Games of the ÕXVI Olympiad in Atlanta, the USA. The Ukrainian team celebrated its 100 anniversary of the first Olympic games of contemporaneity excellently, having won 23 medals, 9 of which were gold. Exactly there, in Atlanta, the stars of Liliya Podkopayeva (sports gymnastics), Kateryna Serebryanska (calisthenics) and Volodymyr Klichko (boxing, weight category - more than 91 kg) began to shine.

In Vienna Kateryna Serebryanska obtained the title of absolute champion of the world on calisthenics.

High jumper Inga Babakova obtained the first place at “Grand Prix” in Monaco. In the same 1995 at the international competitions in Tokyo she took the height of 205 cm, whereupon following the results of the international starts she was acknowledged to be the best jumper of the world of 1995.

 

XVI² winter Olympiad of 1994 in Lillehammer (Norway) became the debut of already separate Olympic team of independent Ukraine. And the first “gold”: it was obtained by the figure skater Oksana Bayul. Biathlete Valentyna Tserbe brought “bronze” to Ukraine.

The mistress of first in the history of independent Ukraine Olympic “gold” was not among favorites: both judges and public predicted success to the American figure skaters Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. But Oksana upset their plans. And she did overcome the rivals. Many even didn’t know such country as Ukraine. Nobody expected that its representative could win. Therefore organizers did not prepare the Ukrainian flag – did not even know what it is like. And, finally, hang it upside-down. And they were looking for the hymn of Ukraine for about 45 minutes. Everybody was waiting while the leader of the Ukrainian team ran back to the Olympic settlement and brought a cassette… That was almost the first serious request of sporting Ukraine at the international scene.

But higher than all jumped… Sergiy Bubka. Once again he obtained the title of the world pole-jumping champion in German Stuttgart. By then Sergiy Bubka had already been a three time world champion and possessor of “gold” of Olympiad in Seoul of 1988.

 In 1993 the Ukrainian gymnast Olena Vitrychenko appeared successfully at the world championship in Alicante (Spain), for this she was given the title of the honoured master of sports of Ukraine.

The XVI²² winter Olympic Games in Nagano (Japan) brought one silver reward to the team of Ukraine (Olena Petrova, biathlon). In the team classification Ukraine did not lose its competitive spirit: obtained the 18-th place among 72 teams, from which only 22 received the medals.

 Ukrainian biathlete Olena Zubrylova won superiority three times at the stages of world championships in Finnish Kontiolahti (pursuit race, 10 km) and Norwegian Holmenkollen (individual race, 15 km; mas-start, 12.5 km).

From September, 15 till October, 1 the ÕXVI² Olympic Games took place in Australian Sidney. They brought 3 gold, 20 silver and 12 bronze medals to Ukraine. For the first time Ukrainian “goldfish” Yana Klochkova, who won 2 gold and 1 silver medals, became famous in the whole world. The Olympic “silver” was received by Denys Silantyev.

Multiple foil fencing champion of the world Sergiy Golubytskyi became the winner of competitions for World Cup in Italy, having defeated the representative of the German team in the finale.

Ukrainian sprinter Zhanna Pintusevych-Blok received the title of world champion on hundred meter race (Canada, Edmonton).

Gymnast Tamara Yerofeyeva obtained the bronze reward in the absolute championship at the world calisthenics championship in Madrid.

Iryna Merleni obtained the champion title at the world championship on the free-style wrestling (male and female) and Greco-Roman wrestling in Budapest (category – up to 48 kg).

Ukrainian figure skaters Olena Grushyna and Ruslan Goncharov received “bronze” at the world figure-skating championship in Moscow.

On December, 13, 2004 forward of the Italian club “Milan” Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko was acknowledged to be the best footballer of Europe according to the version of magazine “France football” and, finally, he received his deserved “Gold ball” (before that during the vote for this reward he twice took the third place).

  And yet in summer in Athens at the ÕXVI²² Olympic Games the national team of Ukraine received 9 gold, 5 silver and 9 bronze medals. The best results again belonged to swimmer Yana Klochkova, Iryna Merleni and Elbrusa Tedeyeva (free-style wrestling), athlete Yuriy Bilonoga, Valeriya Goncharova (artistic gymnastics), Olena Kostevych (trap-shooting), Yuriy Nikitin (rebound-tumbling) and Nataliya Skakun (weightlifting).

 

In Kiev on November, 2 the Second billiard sport Championship of Europe “Pyramid” finished: Ukrainian Olena Rusakova, who in the final match overcame Russian Anna Mazhyrina by a score of 5:2, became the champion of Europe in the competition of women.

Ukrainian footballer Andriy Shevchenko became the winner of Champions League and the possessor of Cup of Italy.

In Turkey at the Second world amateur box championship between women (185 sportswomen from 39 countries) Ukrainian Larysa Berezenko and Anzhela Torska (in the photo) received the greatest rewards.

Yana Klochkova won two gold medals at the world short course swimming championship in Moscow, three gold medals at the European long course swimming championship in Berlin and two gold medals at the European short course swimming championship in Riesa (Germany).

The ÕÕ winter Olympic Games in Turin (Italy) brought to Ukraine two bronze rewards in such types of sport as biathlon (Liliya Yefremova) and sport dance on ice (Ruslan Goncharov and Olena Grushyna).

 At the world football championship the national team of Ukraine came to the 1/4 of the finale (extraordinary success for our team!), and also automatically got a tour to the “Euro-2012” and more over Ukraine became its host country.

At the world calisthenics championship that took place in Patras (Greece), Ukrainian gymnast Ganna Bezsonova won the title of absolute champion of the world (she is also a double bronze prizewinner of the Olympic Games of 2004 and 2008 in an individual all-round).

Games of the ÕÕ²Õ Olympiad of 2008 in Beijing brought the record amount of rewards to Ukrainians – 27 medals (7 gold, 5 silver and 15 bronze), and this allowed our national team to take high 11-th team place.

 Champion of Olympiad in Beijing fencer Olga Kharlan won two gold rewards (in individual and team competitions) of the championship of Europe at Plovdiv, Bulgaria.

At the weightlifting championship of Europe in Bucharest Ukrainian Nataliya Trotsenko (53 kg) won gold medal and defended the title of continental champion.

On May, 20, 2009 Donetsk “Shakhtar” defeated German “Werder” by a score of 2:1, having won the UEFA Cup for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine.

In February at the XXI winter Olympic Games in Vancouver the Ukrainian team did not win any reward. Although, in March Paralympics  team at the X winter Paralympics Games in Vancouver took the 5-th place among 44 teams, having won 19 medals – 5 gold, 8 – silver and 6 bronze. Three “gold” and one “silver” belonged to the skier Oleksandra Kononova.  

World Boxing Council (WBC) appropriated the title “Champion of Year-2009” to Vitaliy Klichko by delivery boxing “Oscar” in the presence of 80 world champions of different generations at Cardiff (Wales).

On August, 24 the Ukrainian sportsmen will represent our country at the I Youth Olympic Games in Singapore (August, 14–26, 2010). 54 sportsmen will champion for rewards in 18 types of sport. Let the hymn of Ukraine sound there as well. In honor of Ukraine.

Yuliya TSYRFA