Ukraine's Olympians off to Atlanta Games (07/14/96)

Ukraine's Olympians off to Atlanta Games

by Marta Kolomayets
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Several thousand Kyivans gathered on the capital city's Indepen-dence Square on Friday evening, July 5, to send off Ukraine's 237-member team to the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta.

Chanting "U-kra-yi-na" and "Pe-re-mo-ha" (victory), and clapping to the beat, the enthusiastic spectators were entertained by some of Ukraine's most popular rock groups - Plach Yeremiyi, Ani Lorak and Pikardiyska Tercia - while waiting for the Olympic hopefuls to arrive at the city center, brightly decorated with Olympic banners and Coca-Cola slogans.

Policemen on motorcycles escorted four busloads of athletes, trainers and support staff to the festive send-off event, organized by Coca-Cola in Ukraine, one of the Olympic team's top sponsors. As the cheering crowd greeted the athletes, decked out in blue-and-yellow Adidas sports outfits, the Olympics-bound competitors acknowledged their warmth, doing "the wave" on the makeshift stage for their admiring fans.

Prime Minister Pavlo Lazarenko addressed the Ukrainian delegation headed for Atlanta. He emphasized the fact that on this 100th anniversary of the modern Olympics, Ukraine will - for the first time - be represented as an independent team in the Summer Games.

"Currently Ukraine finds itself in the complex process of being recognized as an independent European state. The going is difficult, slow. We face many barriers - economic, political and social - along this course," said Mr. Lazarenko.

Looking at the beaming young faces of the athletes, he emphasized "with only one victory you can bring Ukraine recognition throughout the world, glory, international acclaim, as did our compatriot Oksana Baiul at the Winter Olympic Games in 1994."

One hundred twenty of the Ukrainian Olympians took off for Boryspil immediately after the ceremony on a charter Air-Ukraine flight to Atlanta. Another charter will depart on July 14 as Air-Ukraine is providing free flights for the Olympic team.

At a news conference on July 4 at the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Minister Valeriy Borzov, who is also the chairman of Ukraine's Olympic Committee, informed reporters that he expects Ukraine to capture between eight and 10 gold medals at these Olympics, in such events as gymnastics, freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling, track and field, and archery.

Ukraine will be represented in 25 of the 26 events scheduled at the Games, which will be held July 19-August 4. [Ukraine will not have a representative in tennis, because Andrey Medvedyev has refused to compete for Ukraine.]

And those who win medals for Ukraine will be rewarded both by the state and by the Ukraina Bank with cash prizes. The government will give $10,000 for each gold medal, $6,000 for each silver medal and $3,000 for each bronze. Sweetening the offerings will be the Ukraina Bank, offering $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000, respectively. Prime Minister Lazarenko announced on July 5, that President Leonid Kuchma had ordered the government to create a special fund that will donate another $50,000 to each athlete who brings home a gold medal.

Although the Ukrainian government has been able to finance only 54.4 percent of the Olympic team's budget, the Ukrainian diaspora in North America, collected more than $500,000, and sponsors based in Ukraine such as Coca-Cola, Adidas, Air-Ukraine, UPS, Kodak, Motorola, the joint venture Kyivska Rus, Cinti, Digital, ACKO Insurance, Paulig, Gala RADIO and KievIntours, also provided funds for the Games. The budget was 2.237 trillion karbovantsi, more than $12 million (U.S.).

Representing the Ukrainian government in Atlanta will be NOC Chairman and Minister of Sports and Youth Borzov, the Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers Valeriy Pustovoytenko and Ukraine's Ambassador to the U.S. Yuri Shcherbak.

During the send-off evening ceremony, Coca-Cola's general director in Ukraine, Valentyn Stalovir, wished the athletes the best of luck, telling them to "Go for the gold," (Coke's slogan for the games).

Oleksander Omelchenko, Kyiv's acting mayor, pointed out that 51 members of the Olympic team hail from Kyiv. He added that he wishes success not only to the Kyivans but to all the competitors from Ukraine.

Ivan Bohdan, a medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 1960 Games in Rome, and hailing from Ukraine (when it competed for the Soviet Union), offered the young athletes words of encouragement.

He was not the only Olympic veteran present at the send-off ceremony; also in attendance were Nina Bocharova (gold medalist in gymnastics, 1952, Helsinki), Nina Umanets (member of the silver-medal-winning rowing team, 1980, Moscow) and Hryhoriy Kryss (gold medalist in fencing, 1964, Tokyo).

Rostyslav Zaulichny, a boxer from Lviv, who captured a silver medal in Barcelona in 1992, spoke on behalf of all the Olympic athletes. He thanked the government, the sponsors and the crowds for the festive, spirited send-off to Atlanta.

A new Ukrainian Olympic song, written specially for this year's games by Yuriy Rybchynsky and Hennadiy Tatarchenko, was performed by Volodymyr Zasukhin for the athletes and the cheering throngs.

Ukraine's citizens will be able to follow the Ukrainian Olympic team's triumphs and agonies on state television channels UT-1and UT-2, which will broadcast 200 of the 600 hours of the Games, with a 12-man TV crew in Atlanta that will provide coverage.

According to Oleksander Pelykh, the national television company's international department chairman, the right to broadcast the Games cost Ukraine $800,000. About 60 percent of the broadcasts will be live.

After the athletes departed Independence Square, the people did not disperse for another hour or more, as they were entertained by Ukraine's top female pop star, Iryna Bilyk, and the band Skriabin. Their thirst was quenched by Coca-Cola, whose representatives gave out free cans of the real thing.

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