Threesome of Ukrainian Canadians a force at Pan Am Games (09/26/99)

Threesome of Ukrainian Canadians a force at Pan Am Games

by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj
Toronto Press Bureau

TORONTO - Ukrainians were prominent in the opening ceremonies of the 13th Pan American Games in Winnipeg as 120 dancers were featured in a special program section devoted to their art. But, for the succeeding two weeks, it was three Ukrainian Canadian athletes, swimmers Joanne Malar, 23, of Hamilton, Ontario, and Kelly Stefanyshyn of Winnipeg, and racquetballer Kane Waselenchuk, 18, of Edmonton, Alberta, who took the spotlight, turning in strong performances in the competitions.

Swimming phoenix

Ms. Malar was a phoenix rising from the ashes of her Olympic frustrations at the Atlanta Games, where, favored to win gold in her events, she failed to even gain the podium and withdrew from a relay.

In Winnipeg's newly built Pan Am Pool, she put in a triple-gold-medal performance and earned a return trip to the most famous competition in the world, whose return engagement will be held in Sydney, Australia, next summer.

On August 2 Ms. Malar's hot pace in the 400-meter individual medley final seemed to evaporate the water in front of her, as she steamed to a time of 4:38.46. It was a personal best that shattered her own Canadian record by 2.94 seconds, set a new Pan Am mark (which she also previously had owned, from the last competition in Mar Del Plata, Argentina), and was the second best time recorded in the world this year.

An additional, by no means small, technicality: the performance officially qualified her for the 2000 Olympiad.

Also on August 2, Ms. Malar helped set another Pan Am record, this time in the 4 x 200-meter relay, with a gold-medalling team that clocked 8:05.56.

The following day Ms. Malar was tearing at the record books again, winning yet another gold in the 200-meter medley, with a new Pan Am mark of 2:14.18.

On the podium again on August 4, the Hamilton star collected a bronze medal for a 4:12.64 effort in the 400-meter freestyle, which broke a Canadian record that had stood for 16 years.

Ms. Malar's impressive Pan Am career came to a close with the Winnipeg chapter. It began with the 1991 games in Havana and includes seven silver medals and three bronze.

Swimming phenom

On August 4, home-town hero Kelly Stefanyshyn set a Canadian record in the 100-meter backstroke, with a time of 1:2.14, in dramatic fashion. Back in fourth place at the half-way point, she powered past a fellow Canadian and two U.S. swimmers (one of whom, Beth Botsford, was the gold medalist in the event in Atlanta) to touch the wall first.

Quoted in the Toronto-based Globe and Mail, Ms. Stefanyshyn said: "It felt amazing ... To be here in Winnipeg, in the home pool, and to do it in front of my family and friends, it's the best race of my life." Her clan was indeed there to offer support, according to a report in the Winnipeg Free Press; among those present were her father, Richard; her mother, Allison, sister Deanne; and her grandparents.

The day before she had been bested by the same two Americans in the 200-meter backstroke, as she came in with a time of 2:13.24 to claim the bronze medal.

Ms. Stefanyshyn also contributed to a silver medal effort in the 4 x 100-meter medley relay that came second to the U.S. team on August 6, in a time of 4:08.73.

Racquetball's young lefty

Mr. Waselenchuk's sport was among those featured from the first day of competition, July 24. Playing out of Pool D, the left-handed Edmontonian blasted out of the starting blocks by taking the first game against his first opponent, Rob de Jesus of Puerto Rico, 15-1 - faltered slightly, losing the next game 11-15 - but recovered to take the deciding game 11-6 (in racquetball, the deciding game is played to 11).

He did even better in the two matches played on July 25, annihilating Antonia Valenzuela of the Dominican Republic 15-4, 15-2 and Roberto Nasser of Honduras 15-2, 15-3. On July 27, he beat Manolo Bendfeldt of Guyana 15-9, 15-7 to reach the quarter-finals.

In that round the next day he met fellow Canadian Sherman Greenfeld, 37, a four-time world champion and two-time Manitoba Athlete of the Year.

Undaunted, since he shocked the veteran earlier this year by beating him at the Canadian nationals, the young Ukrainian built a 13-8 lead in the first game. He couldn't get the last two crucial points, and lost the game 13-15.

In the next, as reported in the Toronto-based National Post, he overwhelmed Mr. Greenfeld with "an array of winning shots from all over the court, often diving to the floor to save a shot, bounding back to his feet as the return shot raced towards him," and won handily by a score of 15-3.

However, the wily veteran proved too canny. Allowed an extensive injury time-out to nurse a shaky ankle, and relying on a wicked succession of aces, Mr. Greenfeld prevailed 11-8 to advance.

It appears that the youngster took too much out of Mr. Greenfeld, as he eventually settled for the bronze medal. After their match, the winner told the National Post: "He's the future of the game. No one's going to be beating him. He's too good."

For his part, Mr. Waselenchuk said it was an honor to lose to his opponent. "He is the greatest racquetball player who ever lived, I think," the Edmontonian averred graciously.

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