Turning the pages back...February 25, 1994 (02/22/98)

Turning the pages back...

February 25, 1994

Four years ago, in Lillehammer, Norway, Ukraine made its Olympic debut. It was quite a memorable Olympics as that premiere was marked by the gold-medal performance of figure skater Oksana Baiul on February 25, 1994.

Here's how The Weekly's Andrij Wynnyckyj described the conclusion of the XVII Winter Olympiad.

* * *

On Friday, February 25, the world watched as the flag symbolizing the golden wheat fields and blue skies of Oksana Baiul's homeland rose above the medal winners' podium in the Olympic Amphitheater in Hamar, Norway. She was a champion. ...

The XVII Winter Olympiad in Lillehammer will be remembered as the setting for Friday, February 25, the night that, thanks to a graceful orphan from Odesa, Ukraine staked its claim in the Olympic Klondike. Perhaps TV commentator Jim Nantz of the CBS network said it best: "On that night, the whole world adopted Oksana Baiul."

Team Ukraine did well in Lillehammer, placing 13th in a field of 60, on the strength of Ms. Baiul's gold and biathlete Valentyna Tserbe's bronze, coupled with many impressive top-10 finishes.

The women's biathlon squad of Ms. Tserbe, Maryna Skolota, Olena Petrova and Olena Ogurtsova turned in a phenomenal performance in the 4 x 7.5-kilometer relay. They came in fifth, 18 seconds behind fourth-place skiing-mad host Norway, and only a scant 1 minute 58 seconds out of the medals. The men also did respectably, with two individual top-15s and a 15th place in the 4 x 7.5 kilometer relay.

Natalia Sherstniova's bravura earned a fifth-place finish in the aerial event of the freestyle skiing competition. The ice dance pair of Iryna Romanova and Ihor Yaroshenko bore witness to the depth of Ukraine's skating program (seventh), and lugers Natalka Yakushenko (eighth) and the tandem of Andrii Mukhin and Ihor Urbanskyi (eighth) also held their own. ...Yurii Shulha placed 10th in 1,500-meter speed skating. Iryna Taranenko was entered in all four cross-county events, soldiering through to the end of each.

But no numbers can measure the graciousness of Olena Liashenko (19th in women's figure skating), who was quoted by The New York Times in speaking about her teammate, Oksana Baiul: "Oksana's just like all of us, she just skates more beautifully. God gave her that talent."

...On the night of Friday, February 25, the flag of Oksana Baiul's country rose and its anthem played. The world had adopted a beautiful child, and the Olympic movement welcomed a new nation of champions.

Source: "Oksana Baiul crowns Ukraine's Olympic premiere with gold," by Andrij Wynnyckyj, March 6, 1994, Vol. LXII, No. 10, The Ukrainian Weekly.

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