Sport life
Both professional and amateur sports are very popular in Ukraine. Physical training is a compulsory subject at all school levels and besides thousands of boys and girls train in hundreds of sport clubs under the guidance of highly qualified coaches. So it is no wonder that Ukrainian sportsmen show good and excellent results at national, international and world championships.
The
name of Kyiv's famous football team "Dynamo" works like a
visiting card for many Ukrainians who travel abroad, helping to find
friends among football fans and supporters. This team was the
European Cup Holder twice, in 1975 and 1985, and their players
Oleg Blokhin and Ihor Bielanov were named among the best football
players of Europe. Now Andrey Shevchenko and Sergiy Rebrov have
proved that they are the worthy followers of the best "Dynamo"
traditions. "Dynamo" fans are sure that their favourite
team is capable of leading Ukrainian football players to future
victories.
The "Spartak" handball team from Kyiv, headed by senior coach Ihor Turchyn won 13 European Champion's Cups, and its players Zinaida Turchyna and Larysa Karlova were named best players in European and World Championships several times.
The Ukrainian school of gymnastics is famous all over the world. Its representatives — Iryna Deriuhina, Oleksandra Tymoshenko, Oksana Skaldina and some others — have won World and European Championships many times. The famous Ukrainian gymnast Larysa Latynina has the longest history of Olympic records: 9 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals.
Track-and-field events fans will always remember the victories of Ukrainian sprinter Valeriy Borzov, who won 2 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals at the 20th and 21st Olympic Games. He is now the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Ukraine
The
legendary veteran of Ukrainian sport, 8 times World and Olympic
champion in the pole vault Serhiy Bubka holds 35 world records. He
has an honorary title of the "World's Best Athlete".
Recently he has returned to the sporting ground after a trauma of his
knee and his fans are looking forward to his new records.
In the 1992 Olympic games, Ukrainian figure skater Oksana Baiul won the first gold medal for independent Ukraine which sent its national team to the Olympics for the first time.
At the 26th Olympic Games in Atlanta the harvest of prizes was much greater: 9 gold and many silver and bronze medals. The winners at that Olympics were: gymnast Lilia Podkopaieva, free-style gymnast Katya Serebrianska, Greco-Roman wrestler Viacheslav Oliynyk, weight-lifter Tymur Taimazov, boxer Volodymyr Klichko, yachtsmen Yevhen Braslavets and Ihor Matvienko, a track-and-field athlete Inesa Kravets and others.
Recently the young swimmer Yana Klochkova has the title of the World and European Champion in complex swimming. She also won 2 gold and 1 silver medals in the Olympic Games in Sidney. Oleksander Bagach is the World and European Champion in putting the shot. Olena Zubrilova became a prize winner in the World Cup in biathlon. These and many other victories of Ukrainian sportsmen give hope to their fans for future records and Olympic medals.