Sport in Ukraine: Sports, People, Events.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Ukraine

Sports and recreation

Ukraine benefited immensely from the Soviet emphasis on sports and physical education, which left the
country with hundreds of stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and other athletic facilities. Popular
sports include track and field, volleyball, shooting, basketball, swimming, and gymnastics. Football (soccer),
however, is by far the favourite sport, and archrivals Shakhtar Donetsk and Dynamo Kyiv are two of the
country’s most popular clubs. Ukraine was the cohost of football’s European Championship tournament in
2012. Chess is also considered a sport.

Ukrainian athletes excelled in international competitions while representing the U.S.S.R. Since
independence, Ukraine has fielded its own Olympic teams, featuring such notable gold medal winners as
figure skater Oksana Baiul, heavyweight boxer Wladimir Klitschko (Ukrainian: Volodymyr Klichko),
weightlifter Timur Taimazov, gymnast Liliya Podkopayeva, and swimmer Yana Klochkova. Klitschko, along
with his brother Vitali, dominated the heavyweight ranks of professional boxing in the early 21st century, and
Vitali used his popularity to launch a political career.

People do sports to be healthy. Sports play an important part in the modern Ukrainian society. There are many sports grounds,
swimming pools, football fields in each town. A lot of people are fond of jogging. For many young people in Ukraine sport is a hobby. I
hope these changes will help Ukrainians to keep fit and enjoy life as it is.

The most popular kinds of sports in Ukraine are volleyball football, athletics, and swimming. Much attention is also paid to professional
sports. Every year there are a lot of sports competitions, sports days and Olympiads. Our sportsmen also take part in the Olympic
Games once in four years. The Olympic victories of Ukrainian athletes are quite impressive: about 200 gold medals. Among the Olympic
champions are L. Latynina, О Bayul. Y. Klotchkova, S. Bubka and many others. Now their names are famous all over the world.

In order to become a champion, you must train for many years. A good coach is also very important. Nowadays specialists in physical
training are trained by Кiev Institute of Physical Training, in Lvov, Dnepropetrovsk, and by 14 high physical training schools. The largest
stadiums are Kiev Stadium for 100.000 spectators and Kiev Palace of Sports for 12.000 spectators. There are also some international
sports clubs like "Spartak" or "Progress" in Lvov, Chernovtsy and other cities.

Ukraine is an Eastern European country which was once part of the Soviet Union, and did not compete in world sport under its own
name until the 1990s. It is bordered by Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and a few more countries in the region. This has
inevitably had an effect on the country for both politically and socially but what has been quite noticeable is how Ukraine has never lost
its love of sports. The former Soviet Union had placed great importance in physical education and fitness to which Ukraine had greatly
benefited because it left Ukraine with many of the facilities that they would have not built on their own.

As with most European countries, Ukraine place special significance to football. There are a number of Ukrainians in the football stage
most notably Golden Ball Awardees Ihor Belanov, Oleh Blokhin, and Andriy Shevchenko. They made their first appearance in the FIFA
World Cup in 2006 and reached as far as the quarterfinals where they lost to Italy, the champions of that year.

Ukraine has also produced many notable athletes in other sports like brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko who both held world
heavyweight belts in boxing, Pole vault world record holder Sergey Bubka who held the indoor world record for a staggering 21 years
(1993-2014) and has held the outdoor record since 1994. In basketball, the Ukraine national basketball team has also qualified to the
FIBA World Cup.

 In the 19th century, in Ukraine as sports wrestling, football and many other sports gained immense popularity in Ukraine.
 Interest and attention towards physical education has proved to be very beneficial for the country by the Soviet Union.
 By the time the Soviet Union did not exist, many gymnasiums, swimming pools, stadiums and other sports centers were established in Ukraine.

Bestest sports of Ukraine in 2019

Football in Ukraine
1. Football is the most played and most famous game among Ukrainians.
2. Vyscha Liha or the Ukrainian Premier League is the country’s most important football league.
3. Ukrainian First League or Persa Leah is second in Ukrainian leagues. Dru liga or the second league is Ukraine’s second most important league.
4. This league is divided into West (A) and East (B) groups. Amateur level is the country’s fourth level league.
5. After the end of a football season, the two worst performing teams in the Ukrainian Premier League are allocated for the Ukrainian First League, while the two
best performing teams of the Ukrainian First League are transferred to the Ukrainian Premier League.
6. The two lowest teams of the Ukrainian First League have been moved to the second league while the two most successful teams of the second league have
been transferred to the Ukrainian First League.
7. Football teams each draw and one digit for three points.
8. Teams under any league can become a Ukrainian Cup participant.
9. The Ukrainian Cup and the Ukrainian championship winners are the only ones who can participate in the Ukrainian Super Cup.
10. Andrey Shevchenko is a world-renowned Ukrainian football athlete. Ukraine sees them as a national hero.
11. Poland and Ukraine hosted the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship.

Ukrainian Basketball
 In addition to football, Ukrainians consider basketball as their most prominent sport.
 Basketball players coming from Ukraine were one of the most important reasons why the national basketball team of the USSR was extremely successful and
won the entire European and even basketball scenes from around the world.
 Among the most popular basketball players in Ukraine include Alexander Anatolyvich Volkov, Anatoly Polivoda, Vladimir Tachchenko and Alexander
Beloestny.
 Bc Kiev successfully qualified for FIBA EuroCup finals in 2005, while BC Azovmash achieved the same feat in 2007.
 Both Ukrainian basketball club teams attracted widespread attention.
 The Ukrainian national basketball team has already become an established name in elite European teams.

European Basketball
 The country has a good chance to win the 2015 European Basketball Championship.
 After official confirmation in 2012, basketball became more popular in Ukraine that the country would host the 2015 European Championship.
 Odessa, Lions, Kiev, Kharkiv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk will work as host cities.
 Ukraine will repair some arena for the much anticipated sporting event. The main event “We are ready!” As its slogan is.
 Such a tag line corresponds to the experience of Ukraine fully in relation to handling events of mass play.
 Ukrainian Basketball Foundation’s president, Olexander Wolkov, emphasized the very positive experience of Ukraine in hosting the football championship.
 Ukraine was chosen mainly due to the quality of its athletic infrastructure throughout the country.
 Victor Yanukovych, President of Ukraine, decided to establish an organizing committee on February 2012, which will handle the preparation and grip of the
2015 European Basketball Championship in Ukraine.
 The Prime Minister of Ukraine, Mykola Aarov, is the leader of the said committee.
 The preparations for the 2012 European Football Championship included the construction of airports, hotels, key roads and other important structures which
will also be used for the 2015 European Basketball Championship.
 It can be said with the greatest confidence that teams participating in the country’s basketball league are able to participate in the European Cup basketball
championship.
 The Ukrainian Basketball Super League is the most important basketball league in the country.
 Vaishah Leha is Ukraine’s next league while Persha Leah is considered to be the next most powerful league.

Boxing in Ukraine

1. Vitaly and Volodymyr Klitschko are very popular heavyweight boxers of Ukraine.
2. He has also won the World Championship title several times before.
3. They are the current holders of some IBO, IBF, Ring Magazine, WBC and WBO titles.

Ice Hockey in Ukraine

 The country’s ice hockey league is called the Professional Hockey League. Social is the most historic and most important team of Kiev League.
 HC Donbase is a participant in the Coptinental Hockey League, and it is accepted as the highest level hockey team in Ukraine.
 The national ice hockey team of the country has already participated in the Olympics and some other world championship events.
Cricket in Ukraine
1. The aim of the Ukrainian Cricket Association is to increase the popularity of cricket among Ukrainians.
2. Currently, there are many cricket clubs within the country.
3. These include Crimea Cricket Club, Donetsk Cricket Club, Kharkiv Cricket Club, Kiev Cricket Club, Luhansk Cricket Club, Turnopil Cricket Club and
Vincent’s Cricket Club.

Also read  https://concert.ua/en/catalog/all-cities/sport

Rugby in Ukraine
 Ukraine does not consider rugby union as a major sport.
 However, it is gaining increased interest from Ukrainians. In the country, in fact, there is a long history with this game which is spread over sixty years.
 In 1991, the Ukrainian Union was founded. After independence of Ukraine in 1992, the League became part of the IRB.
 Despite the establishment of a national rugby union during the 1960s, it can not be seen as a proper national association.

Ukraine’s Female Artistic Gymnasts

1. There has already been a significant number of the winning lady Ukrainian gymnast.
2. Many notable names include Anastasia Koval, Irina Krasniyaska, Alina Kozich, Victoria Carpeno, Tatyana Gutsu, Lilia Podkopayeva and Larissa Latinina.
3. The team achieved the eleventh position during the qualifying round, and it did not reach the final.
4. However, Darya Zagoba and Anastasia Koval qualified for the finals of Gymnastics in unequal bars. Darya was placed at the eighth place while Anastasia was
placed fifth.
5. During the 2009 European Championship, Ukrainian gymnast won notable achievements, which were held in Italy’s Milan.
6. Each device in the country had at least one gymnast for the last event. Ukrainian Gymnast won a bronze medal and a gold medal during the final.
7. Anna was a bronze medalist on Kathniik Vihar, while Yana was the gold medalist on Damienchuk Beam. Yana also got 12th place for all-round event.

Men’s Artistic Gymnastics

 Oleksander Vorobov was successful during the 2008 Summer Olympics, which was held in Beijing in China. He still won a bronze medal for artistic
gymnastics on the rings.
 Male Ukrainian Gymnast has recently made remarkable achievements in the 2009 European Champions and the 2012 London Olympics.
 During the 2009 European Championships, Mykola Kukkenkov won a bronze medal for his performance at the high bar, while the Olekandra Vorobov Still
Medalists were Still Rings.
 In the 2012 Summer Olympics, Igor Redvillov won a bronze medal for gymnastics on the vault.

Rhythmic Gymnastics
1. Ukraine considers the rhythmic gymnastics as its most famous sport. Anna Besenova, Olexandra Tymoshenko, Natalia Godunko, Olena Vittrichenko and
many other Ukrainian athletes are considered to be the best rhythmic gymnasts globally.
2. There are several clubs in the country dedicated to the rhythmic gymnastics.
3. Dariugina School is the most popular and most famous Ukrainian training school in the field of rhythmic gymnastics. It is located in Kiev, and it is operated
by Albina and Irina Dariugina.

Olympic Games
 As the independent country, the earliest participation of Ukraine in the Olympics was in 1994. Since that year, Ukraine has sent representatives to the Summer
Olympics and the Winter Olympics on a consistent basis.
 From 1952 to 1988, athletes from Ukraine participated in the Olympics as representatives of the Soviet Union. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union,
Ukraine became a member of the Unified Team in 1992.
 Ukraine has won five medals from the Winter Olympics Games and 115 medals from the Summer Olympic Games. Gymnastics currently holds the record for
providing the medal for the country.
 In 1990, the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine was established. Om 1993, it received the recognition of the International Olympic Committee.
 Ukraine regularly participates in both the Winter Olympics and the Summer Olympics. Its involvement is characteristic of success.
 During the 1996 Summer Olympics, Ukraine remained the ninth place overall. Such a feat was the achievement of the country’s best Olympics.
 During the summer Olympics of 1997, Ukrainian gymnast Lilya Podkopayeva won the title of All-Around in Women’s Gymnastics.

It is quite obvious that sports in Ukraine are well developed and some Ukrainian athlets rank with the world stars.
Professional and amateur sports are very popular in Ukraine. Physical training is a compulsory subject at all school
levels and thousands of Ukrainian boys and girls train in sport clubs. There is no wonder that Ukrainian sportsmen
show good and excellent results at national, international and world championships. We can say that Ukraine’s
participation in the world Olympic movement started in 1894, when a 56-year-old Ukrainian General Alexey Butovsky
went to Paris to attend the Athletic Congress, where he became one of the founding members of the movement.
In 1994 independent Ukraine sent its national team to vie in the Games for the first time. At the 17 lh Winter Games in
Lilehammer young figure skater Oksana Baiun went down into Olympic history, she won the first gold medal for
Ukraine.

The name of Kyiv football team «Dynamo» is very famous, in many cases it works like a visiting card for Ukrainians
who travel abroad, it helps to find friends among football fans and supporters. In 1975 and 1986 «Dynamo» led by
noted coach V. Lobanovsky, took the European Holder’s Cup.

Great success was achieved by women’s basketball team winning the 1995 European Championship. The Kyiv
Budivelnyk basketball, Sokil hockey and Zaporizhia’s Orbita volleyball teams enjoy constant popularity with their fans.

The Ukrainian school of calisthenics is recognized all over the world. I. Deriuhina, A. Tymoshenko, O. Skaldina, K.
Serebrianskaia, O. Vit- rychenko and others won world and European championships. The famous Ukrainian gymnast
Larisa Latynina has the longest history of Olympic records: 9 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals.

The fans of track-and-field events will always remember the victories of Ukrainian sprinter Valery Borzov, who won 2
gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. Now he is the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs of Ukraine.

The name of Yana Klochkova today is known not only in Ukraine. Recently she won the title of the World and European
Champion in complex swimming. Sergey Bubka, world-famous pole vaulter, was the first in Ukraine to receive the title
«Merited Master of Sport of Ukraine» followed by that of «Master of Sport, International Class». He is the holder of 35
world records the last being registered in 1994 when he chalked up 6.15 m in Italy.

These and many other victories of Ukrainian sportsmen give hope to their fans for future records and Olympic medals.

источник: SPORT IN UKRAINE - СПОРТ В УКРАИНЕ - Сочинения | ЕГЭ

10 Ukrainian Sport Stars You’ll Never Forget

The main resource and the biggest fortune of a nation are its people. No matter how rich the lands
are or how good the geography it, it’s the people make a country great. Ukrainians are not those
who were born in Ukraine, but who choose this country to be their homeland. In sport, as in no
other human activity, nationality goes right after professional skill. Here are the 10 most
remarkable modern Ukrainian sports stars you need to know.

Elina Svitolina
The #5 tennis player in the world according to The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), is a
23-year old player from Odessa, Elina Svitolina. She began her professional
career in 2010 and so far got her best result in 2017 – reaching WTA ranking
#3. Her list of victories includes top tennis players of the last decade: she beat
Serena Williams, Venus Williams, Petra Kvitová, Svetlana Kuznetsova,
Angelique Kerber and just recently – Simona Halep, the current #1 player in
the world. This Ukrainian sportswoman is also the youngest in the top 10
rankings, and the first Ukrainian tennis player to enter the golden list. Svitolina
is said to have had proposals to change citizenship in return for financial
support but has never accepted such a proposal. At the end of July 2018,
Svitolina declined the chance to play at the Moscow River Cup invitation for
political reasons.

Zhan Beleniuk
Ukrainian Greco-Roman style wrestler just recently won an international
tournament in Turkey and brought back another gold medal for Ukrainian
sport. So far the best sports result for Beleniuk was a silver medal at the
Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. Among other notable records, Ukrainian
wrestler is a two-time winner of World Wrestling Championships in 2015 and
2016. Beleniuk was born in Kyiv; his mother is from Ukraine and father from
Rwanda. His father was a military pilot, killed during the Rwandan Civil War
when Zhan was just 11 years old. In 2017, he visited Rwanda for the first time
and reconnected with his father’s part of the big family.

Oleksandr Usyk
A national hero and an acclaimed boxing star: Usyk is the first boxer in history to
hold all four world championships at cruiserweight at the same time: he
currently holds the WBO, WBC, WBA (Unified) and IBF titles. His trophies
include two gold medals from the 2011 World Championships and 2012
Olympics. In July 2018, Usyk defeated Murat Gassiev at the Olympic Stadium
in Moscow and retained the WBC and WBO cruiserweight titles. He has not lost
a single one of his 15 professional fights to date, and 11 of them were won by
a knockout. Usyk was born in Simferopol, Crimea. After the annexation of the
peninsula, he stated that will never take Russian citizenship and considered
Crimea a part of Ukraine. At the same time, the boxer prefers to stay away
from politics, appreciating sports fans and his supporters in all countries.

Andriy Yarmolenko
Right Winger at England’s West Ham United Football Club since July 2018,
Yarmolenko is one of the several Ukrainian stars on the international football
scene. He moved to West Ham from Dortmund Borussia, signing a 4-year
contract. The transfer fee, according to media reports, was 17.5 million
pounds. In 2011, as a forward of Dynamo Kyiv Yarmolenko became the scorer
of the fastest goal in the history of the national team of Ukraine, scoring a goal
in the 15th second in a friendly match between Ukraine and Uruguay. In 2015
in a match between Ukraine and Slovenia he scored the latest goal in the
history of the national team of Ukraine, at 90+7 minutes. Before he signed for
West Ham Yarmolenko played for Borussia Dortmund from August 2017. That
year German newspaper Bild conducted two polls among the fans, and
Yarmolenko was recognized as the best newcomer of the Bundesliga and the
best player at the start of the German championship.

Vasyl Lomachenko

Hi-Tech is one of his professional nicknames in boxing. The reason for this is
that Lomachenko is world-famous for winning major titles in an
unprecedentedly few numbers of fights. In May 2018 Lomachenko broke the
record held by legendary Jeff Fenech, a member of the Hall of Fame, who won
world titles at bantamweight and junior featherweight before winning a belt at
featherweight in his 20th fight. That was in 1988. Lomachenko did this in his
12th fight. To make sure that boxing history will remember him, during his
amateur fighting years he earned himself golden fame: two gold Olympic
medals in 2008 and 2012, gold at the 2008 European Championships, and gold
at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships. In his amateur career he had 396
victories and just one defeat. He won 11 out of 12 professional fights (losing at
the start of his professional career to Orlando Salido by a decision).
Lomachenko currently holds WBA world title in the lightweight division.

Olha Kharlan
A three-time world champion in saber fencing, Kharlan has two gold Olympic Games
medals and currently leads the International Fencing Federation rating, despite
losing her #1 place to a Chinese fencer in the World Cup in 2018. Still, the 27-
year-old Ukrainian fencer remains the most decorated sportswoman after two
American fencers – they have won four World Cups each. In 2010-2014
Kharlan tried herself in a short political career: in 2010 she was elected a local
deputy of Mykolaiv City Council from the then ruling Party of Regions, in 2012
she was #194 on the party list in the parliamentary elections and so did enter
the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. In March 2014, she withdrew from the Party of
Regions and joined the Green Party of Ukraine at local elections in Kyiv, but
the party did not get the necessary three-percent barrier. In an interview in
2017 Kharlan said that she never wanted to be a politician and as soon as she
had an opportunity to get out she did just that. She also added that she would
never return to politics.

Oleksandr Abramenko
Literally – the main and the only Ukrainian star of the 2018 Olympic Games,
Abramenko is a freestyle skier. In this discipline, he is the first Ukrainian to ever
reach such a professional level. In the 2015-16 season, he won the World Cup
in freestyle. But due to a serious injury, he missed the entire 2017 season,
though his return in 2018 was magnificent. – he brought the Ukrainian Olympic
team the only medal at Pyeongchang, the gold medal. Notably, Abramenko
represents the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Olena Pidhrushna
This Ukrainian biathlete is known for winning Olympic gold at the winter games in Sochi in
2014. This brought Pidhrushna, as well as all of the biathlete female team,
national recognition and love. Pidhrushna is also a World champion and five-
time European champion. In 2014-2015 she was a Deputy Minister of Youth
and Sport of Ukraine. In that same period, she left the sport for almost two
years to raise a family and have a child, but her personal life broke and
biathlete returned to her first nature – sport. At the 2017–18 Biathlon World
Cup she won silver. Pidhrushna carried the Ukrainian flag during the opening
ceremony of the 2018 Olympics in Pyongyang. Unfortunately, the Olympics
were unlucky for Ukraine for this year, and brought only one medal – gold for
freestyle acrobatics.

Marta Kostyuk
The youngest tennis player to participate in a major international contest since 1995. 16-
year-old Kostyuk is now ranked 129 by the WTA, but her career is moving
quickly: she won the 2016 Petits As and 2017 Australian Open girls’ singles,
and in the same year – the ITF tournament and eventually became the
youngest Ukrainian to win a professional title in a single-player category. She
comes from a sporting family, and her first and main trainer remains her
mother. This year during the Australian Open Kostyuk, making her debut at
the open, became the youngest player to win a main draw match since
legendary Martina Hingis did that in 1996. She won again in the second round
and became the youngest player to reach the third round since Mirjana Lučić-
Baroni at the 1997 US Open. However, Elina Svitolina beat her in the third
round.

Yevhen Konoplyanka
A three-time Ukrainian Footballer of the Year, Konoplyanka plays for German club Schalke
04 and the Ukraine national team. For his remarkable game in matches against
Lithuania, Romania, England, Slovenia and so many others, he is considered a
master of midfield and one of the most skillful wide attacking players. Since
the start of his professional career, he has racked up 66 goals and 53 assists in
321 appearances. Now Konoplyanka seems to be a delicious bite for
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino, as he is reported to have plans to add the
Ukrainian footballer to his team.

Not Soviet – Ukrainian!

Ukrainians spent decades supplying the Soviet empire with talented people, in
sports as well. Due to the nature of aggressive Soviet information domination,
these names are now often associated with modern Russia, yet these were
Ukrainians who set records, won medals and hit the podiums. You should know
their names.

Serhii Bubka, pole vaulter. 6-time World Champion, Olympic champion, broke the
world record for the men’s pole vault 35 times and was the first pole vaulter to
clear 6.0m.

Inessa Kravets, athlete.The most prominent woman in triple jumping. She set a
world record in 1995 which has still not been beaten. Inessa is an Olympic and
World champion with numerous awards and records of her time.
Larisa Latynina, artistic gymnast. 9 individual Olympic gold medals for gymnastics,
an absolute World record both for male and female gymnasts.

Zinaida Turchyna, handball player. She won three Olympic and five world
championship medals. In 2000 the International Handball Federation named
her the greatest handball player of the 20th century.

Valeriy Lobanovskyi, football manager. The laureate of the UEFA Ruby Order, FIFA
Order of Merit, also named among the ten greatest coaches since the
foundation of UEFA. He spent 17 seasons as manager of FC Dynamo Kyiv and
led the club to win the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1975 and 1986 and winning
the national league 12 times.