1994: THE YEAR IN REVIEW

World adopts Baiul, Ukraine keeps rolling

Once again, the story in Ukrainian sport was the waif adopted by her coach (Halyna Zmiyevska) and by the world - Oksana Baiul. Unfazed by the orgy of publicity swirling around the grotesquely American "Tonya and Nancy" drama, unbowed by injuries (including a collision with a fellow competitor the day prior to a crucial skate), the 16-year-old from Dnipropetrovske continued to grow and blossom.

Columnist and best selling author Anne Roiphe devoted a touching piece to Ms. Baiul in The New York Observer, imploring her to stay pure, to steer clear of the corrupting Holden Caulfields of the global arena.

Her persona has been pulled into a duel between superagents. At first, along with fellow-Ukrainian and adoptive Odessite "older brother" Viktor Petrenko, she was "the jewel" of agent Michael Rosenberg's "stable." Then Ukrainian presidential candidate and wheeler dealer Valeriy Babych pulled the plug on various "Snickers" endorsement contracts (it's the chocolate bar Oksana said she likes before she was told that words are money), repatriating her "for the benefit of Ukraine" and the powerful William Morris New York-based group of advertisers.

After her win at the Winter Olympics, former President Leonid Kravchuk wisely included Ms. Baiul in his entourage for the official visit to Washington. U.S. President Bill Clinton ignored precedent and made Oksana the first Lillehammer Olympian (gasp, a foreigner!) in the White House.

Nevertheless, as the year drew to a close, Ms. Baiul seems to have managed to stay pure. She sat, like a fidgety flower, as one of Barbara Walters' choices for top-10 most interesting people of the year, and the world's sympathy and concern seemed to shine from the interviewer's eyes. Ms. Baiul cried at the mention of her dead mother and looked down shyly. But then she smiled and stole our hearts.

WINTER OLYMPICS

The 17th Winter Olympiad in Lillehammer in Norway, was the first for a fully independent, separately recognized Team Ukraine, a contingent of 37 athletes. The first medalist was Valentyna Tserbe, who took the bronze in the biathlon. The first gold medal went to Ms. Baiul. Mr. Petrenko, along with three other much heralded professionals returning briefly to amateur status, was somewhat disappointing, but he finished a solid fourth. Besides, he already won his gold, at Albertville.

Ukraine finished 13th in the medal standings, with nine top-10 performances, and another 10 in the top-20. And so, the first time Ukraine's flag and anthem rose above an Olympic podium for everyone to see, it was thanks to an orphan named Oksana. Taras Shevchenko wouldn't have had it any other way.

THE TALE OF TWO SKATING CENTERS

Profiting from the successes of Ukraine's competitors in figure skating and the increased attention paid the sport in general, plans for skating centers in Odessa and in Connecticut simultaneously went into high gear. Because of this parallel, confusion arose as to where Ms. Baiul would live, for which country she would compete, and where she would train, despite a series of clear statements issued to the press by Coach Zmiyevska and Ms. Baiul herself. The anwers: she will live in Odessa; compete for Ukraine; train in Odessa and Connecticut.

After a brief spat over the actual location of Connecticut's new International Skating Center, a site in the town of Simsbury was chosen. Ms. Zmiyevska, Nina Zmiyevska-Petrenko, Mr. Petrenko and Ms. Baiul all flew in for the groundbreaking ceremonies, which took place on April 22, with some 1,200 people in attendance. Completion of the large complex (which includes one Olympic size figure skating and one ice hockey rink) was scheduled for September 15. Construction was completed in late October, and the official opening is scheduled for January 1995. Adding to the tangle of fact and conjecture was the wishful thinking of the local press, particularly of the Hartford Courant, which carried mentions of details suggesting that Oksana was relocating to Connecticut permanently.

In fact, Ms. Baiul's commitment to Ukraine and Odessa could not be stronger. She took time out of her arduous Tour of World Figure Skating Champions to participate in a May 3 reception benefitting her home training facility, which is badly in need of renovation, as well as basic equipment, ranging from ice making machines and a Zamboni, to figure skates for a new generation of Petrenkos, Baiuls, Dmytrenkos, Zahorodniuks and others who are ready to establish a lasting Ukrainian dynasty in the sport.

HOCKEY

In early February, Ukraine's best hockey team, Kyyiv Sokil, spent a nightmarish week in eastern Canada because Toronto-based promoter Yevhen Stashkiv had enticed them across the ocean (at the team's expense), promising them games against top minor league teams in Quebec and Ontario.

When the team was marooned with no money, food, or accommodations in Niagara Falls, the local Hungarian, Greek and Ukrainian communities chipped in with donations of food and funds for necessities, and notified the CBC, Canada's national TV and radio network, which gave the story full coverage. Legal proceedings against Mr. Stashkiv, who also allegedly duped a number of choirs and dance groups, are still pending.

Minor leagues

During the 1993-1994 campaign, young prospect Valeriy Slyvchenko played for Wheeling, a farm team for the 1993 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens. He led the East Coast Hockey League in goal scoring for over four months, but a separated shoulder sidelined him just prior to the playoffs.

For the 1994-1995 campaign, now strike-crippled, one of the hottest prospects was 18-year-old Donetske native Oleh Tverdovsky, rated third among international draft pick choices by the respected Hockey News.

As this year-ender was going to press, Ukraine was among eight (along with Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Russia, Sweden and the U.S.A.) countries sending a team to this year's World Junior Hockey Championships in Alberta, scheduled to begin December 26. Ukraine was to play the host country, Canada, in its first game.

SOCCER

The World Cup

In July, The Weekly carried articles by Mark Papworth and Oleh Szmelskyj (enthusiasts from England) about the history of soccer in Ukraine leading up to the 1994 World Cup, and a two-part éxposé of the collusion between FIFA (soccer's international governing body) and the emergent Russian Football Association, headed by Vyacheslav Koloskov, to exclude Ukraine (along with Georgia and Croatia) from the competition.

Prior to the final tournament in July, the team representing Russia was riven by dissension. Two Ukrainian stars, Andriy Kanchelskis and Viktor Leonenko (top scorer in the Ukrainian league) were kept out of the line-up by coach Pavel Sadyrin after public clashes. In the end, the roster included five Ukrainians (Serhiy Yuran, Viktor Onopko, Oleh Salenko, Illia Tsymbalar and Yury Nikiforov), but the team fared poorly, barely squeaking past the first round. It was summarily dispatched in its next game.

Along the way, however, one of the Ukrainians, Mr. Salenko, made soccer history by scoring five goals against a bedeviled Cameroonian squad, a record for one World Cup game by an individual. Mr. Salenko also tied Italian Paolo Rossi's record for most goals in a World Cup tournament - six.

Ukrainian American Andy Rudawsky, trainer of the U.S. contingent, was among those who shared the spotlight as the sport was given a new prominence in North America.

The Dynamo rollercoaster

After a decade of successes in the 1980s (in 1986, it won the European championship and was ranked second only to the squad that won the World Cup for Argentina that year), Kyyiv Dynamo suffered through considerable financial difficulties and various indignities since independence.

For example, in March the team was involved in a scandal when its officials banned 15-year veteran announcer/commentator Serhiy Derepa from all of its games. He had questioned a referee's call that gave Dynamo a victory over Nyva Ternopil in a Ukrainian league tilt.

In the UEFA Cup competition, Dynamo (ranked 19th in Europe) raised its country's hopes with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Moscow Spartak (ranked seventh) on September 14 in the Ukrainian capital's Republican Stadium. However, the elation was short-lived. Dynamo lost to Paris St. Germain at home and away, and dropped a 1-0 closely fought contest in Germany to München Bayern. The final nail in the coffin was a 4-1 pasting delivered by the Germans on December 7, knocking Kyyiv Dynamo out of the competition.

Other news

In European Championship competition, Team Ukraine was knocked out on September 7, in a game played on home turf, by a Cinderella outfit from Lithuania, blanked 2-0.

Ukraine faired better on the junior circuit, 16-years- and-under division, at the world championships in Dublin, Ireland in October. The team reached the semi-final game, lost to the eventual world champion Belgians, but bounced back to claim the bronze medal by defeating Austria 2-0.

TENNIS

Men's tour

This was the year that Ukraine's Andrei Medvedev established himself firmly among the elite top-15 club, won the Spanish Open, but was unable to get further than the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam event. The highest profile match Mr. Medvedev had was a five-setter he lost to German former champ Boris Becker in the fourth round of Wimbledon. Fellow Kyyivan tour pro Taras Beiko, who now lives in Montreal with his Ukrainian Canadian spouse, told The Weekly that Mr. Medvedev's anti-Ukrainianism has been overblown, and that he has resisted several offers and great pressure exerted by foreign officials urging him to move to Moscow and play for Russia.

While on the subject of Montrealers, 1994 was also the year when Canada's Greg Rusedski of Pointe Claire, Quebec (a suburb of the home of the Canadiens) also achieved a degree of success. His highest level match came against none other than Mr. Medvedev, when the two former contenders for the World Junior title went head to head in the third round of the French Open. Mr. Rusedski bowed out in a five frame see-saw battle that demonstrated how his 125+ m.p.h. serve and improving skills have lifted him into the top-60 in the world.

Women's tour

The best woman player from Ukraine this year played for Latvia. Lviv-born Larysa Savchenko-Nieland reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, only to meet the red hot Lori McNeil of the U.S., who had dispatched German powerhouse Steffi Graf earlier in the tournament. Olena Brioukhovets stayed with the tour but continued to struggle, unable to get past the second round of major events. Having a similar year was Natalia Medvedeva, Andrei's sister, who did better when teamed with Ms. Nieland. The tandem reached the quarter-finals of the doubles competition at Wimbledon.

ATHLETICS

Although it was Ms. Baiul's year, pole-vaulter Serhiy Bubka was back. After struggling in the 1992 Summer Olympics, bouncing back that fall, and then going into an prolonged slump, sports vultures began to write obituaries for the 30-year-old Donetske native's career.

Then, on July 31, a big breezy day in Sestriere in the Alps of northern Italy, Mr. Bubka cleared a height of 20 feet 1.75 inches (6.14 meters), smashing his old mark (set in Tokyo in September 1992), by a full half-inch. He had just set his 35th world record.

At this year's European Track and Field Championships in Helsinki, Finland, all of the familiar names in Ukrainian track and field were in evidence. 1993 World University Games hero Oleksander Klymenko took gold in the shot-put, with Oleksander Bahach and Roman Vyrastiuk completing Ukraine's sweep of the podium. Viktoria Pavlysh also struck gold in the shot-put in the women's competition.

Oleh Tverdokhlib pulled off a stunning upset in the 400-meter run, taking the gold; Zhanna Tarnopolska claimed two silvers in the 100- and 200- meter sprints. Vladislav Dologodin took silver in the 200 meters and was part of the men's 4x100 meter relay squad that brought Ukraine in second to France. Inessa Kravets, the world record-setting long and triple jumper from Dnipropetrovske, claimed silver in the long and bronze in the triple. Lev Lobodin finished third in the decathlon, while Vitaliy Kolpakov was ninth.

ROUND THE WORLD WITH HETMAN & ODESSA

Throughout the year, The Weekly chronicled the progress and tribulations of two yachts, the Odessa (named after the port where it's based) and the Hetman Sahaidachny (of Mykolayiv), as they made their way along the route set out for the Whitbread 'Round the World Race. Our offices even began receiving bi-weekly telegrams that read like passages from C.S. Forester's sea adventure novels - gales at Cape Horn, riding massive 30-foot waves, frost on the sails in a grey dawn...

Thanks to the continuous support of the Ukrainian community in North America, the sponsorship of various firms and private patrons in the U.S. and Ukraine, and crews consisting of an international array of able seamen, the two ships completed most of the arduous run - an accomplishment in itself. The Sahaidachny didn't make it to the finish, and the Odessa limped into the English port of Liverpool last. Nevertheless, they received accolades for valiant endurance and an excellent rookie effort.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

• Kateryna Serebrianska of Ukraine won or shared in all the individual gold medals on the final day of the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Paris, October 8. She won the ribbon and the clubs events outright, tied with Ukraine's Olena Vitrychenko for first in the ball event, and finished in a three way tie for first in the hoops.
  
  
• Valeriy Borzov, president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU), was accepted as a member of the International Olympic Committee at a meeting of the IOC's General Assembly held in Paris from August 28 to September 4.
  
  
• The women's volleyball team from Ukraine continued to consolidate its world top-10 ranking. In March, it took the bronze medal by beating the U.S. at the Canada Cup in Winnipeg, and qualified for the World Championships in Brazil.
  
  
• Coach Basil Tarasko's (from New York's City College) Ukrainian National Team won the Pool B European Baseball Championships with a thrilling 7-6 win over the undefeated host team from Slovenia. They advanced to the Pool A tourney that will determine who qualifies for the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta.
  
  
• Ukraine's rowing teams left their stamp on the World Rowing Championship held on September in Indianapolis, Ind., thanks to the dedicated support of Laryssa Barabash Temple, the U.S. representative of the NOCU and the Buffalo Friends of Ukrainian Athletes, whose co-presidents, Mykola Lewczyk and Joe Grega, have become leading patrons of the Ukrainian Olympic movement.
  
  
• In a year when the Baltimore CFL Colts flubbed a chance to even the score with baseball's Toronto Blue Jays and become the first U.S. champions of the Canadian-based football league, The Weekly's readers learned, thanks to Ihor Stelmach's report, that Hamilton Tiger-Cats president and chief executive officer is Ukrainian Canadian John Michaluk.
  
  
• Chornomorska Sitch, the oldest active sports club in North America, which has fielded a number of strong U.S. amateur soccer and volleyball teams and produced many Olympic and World Cup athletes, celebrated its 70th anniversary with a gala banquet on October 22.
  
  
• The Sitch Sports School, operated in Glen Spey, N.Y., completed its 25th season of service to Ukrainian youth, with a training camp and competitions in soccer, tennis, volleyball and swimming. Also participating were instructors from Ukraine, including Dnipro Ukraine soccer great Ihor Chupenko, Volodymyr Kovalev of the Kyyiv Institute for Physical Education, Albert Kolb of the Uzhhorod Tennis Federation and Marian Karbivnyk of the Lviv Institute of Physical Education.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, December 25, 1994, No. 52, Vol. LXII

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