SPORTSLINE

BOXING

• German-based Ukrainian Volodymyr Klychko, known in boxing circles as Vladimir Klitshko, is looking into the possibility of a fight against WBC and IBF titleholder Lennox Lewis. The current heavyweight champion, Lewis, has set his sights on the eager and hungry Mike Tyson. However, in case the competing American television channels HBO and Showtime don't come to an agreement for a Lewis-Tyson showdown, Klitshko could be the next opponent of the three-time world champion from England.

" 'Ocean's 11' just came out and I fought a guy named Vladimir Klitshko in the movie. That fight might really happen now," Universum Box-Promotion quoted Lewis as saying after knocking out Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of a recent fight.

Before a Klitshko-Lewis or Klitshko-Tyson fight can happen, the Ukrainian will have to face Nigerian David Izon. That fight was originally scheduled for December 1, 2001, however, during a sparring session in November Klitshko, 37-1 (34 KOs), sustained trauma to muscles located in the shoulder area of his back and was indefinitely sidelined for his December 1 bout. After a detailed medical examination doctors declared that further trainings and the bout itself could rupture the muscle.

The new date for this fight was set for sometime between late January and early February with the meeting between Lewis and Tyson unofficially looking like April 6.

"With a victory over Izon I want to show to the boxing world that I'm ready to take on any opponent including Lennox," Klitshko was quoted by Universum Box-Promotion as saying.

MARATHON

• Ukraine's Olena Plastinina won the women's division of the Philadelphia Marathon in 2 hours, 41 minutes and 5 seconds on November 17, 2001. She beat Germany's Andrea Niggemeier by 12 seconds.

Niggemeier briefly overtook Plastinina in the last mile, but the Ukrainian regained the lead on a day ideal for running, reported The Associated Press.

FIGURE SKATING

• Ukrainian Olena Liashenko took the bronze medal at the NHK Trophy in Kumamoto, Japan, on December 1, 2001, after Uzbekistan's Tatyana Malinina won the gold medal and Japan's Yoshie Onda took the silver.

BIATHLON

• The Ukrainian women's 4x7.5-kilometer relay team of Olena Zubrilova, Olena Petrova, Nina Lemesh and Tetyana Vodopyanova captured the bronze medal in a time of 1 hour 41 minutes 25.1 seconds in Pokljuka, Slovenia on December 14, 2001, while the German team of Katrin Apel, Andrea Henkel, Janet Klein and Kati Wilhelm took first place with a time of 1:40:21.2. The Norwegian team of Liv Grete Poiree, Gro Marit Kristiansen, Linda Tjorhom and Gunn Margit Andreassen took the silver medal with a time of 1:40:54.0.
  
  
• In World Cup competition, Olena Zubrilova took second place at the women's 15k in Brezno-Osrblie, Slovakia on December 20, 2001. The Ukrainian finished just two minutes, 53.7 seconds behind first place finisher Magdalena Forsberg of Sweden who won with a time of 49:46.9. and missed only one target. Katja Holanti of Finland took the bronze medal, missing three targets and finishing with a time of 52:49.9.

Although the Ukrainian missed four targets in the event, the second-place finish put her into third place overall after five World Cup events with 174 total points. Forsberg of Sweden currently holds first place with 250 points and Andrea Henkel of German holds second with 188 points.

• On the men's side, Viacheslav Derkach of Ukraine took the bronze medal in the 15k with a time of 44:0.9 and one target missed while Vesa Hietalahti of Finland took the gold with a time of 42:50.6 and one target missed. Alexander Wolf of Germany took the silver medal with a time of 43:32.1 and two targets missed.

WORLD CUP CROSS-COUNTRY

• Irina Terelia took 11th place in the women's 5k freestyle with a time of 13 minutes, 32.3 seconds in Kuopio, Finland, on November 25, 2001. The Ukrainian finished 36.2 seconds behind gold medalist Katerina Neumannova of the Czech Republic. Yulia Tchepalova of Russia took the silver medal, while the bronze went to Kristina Smigun of Estonia.

YOUTH TRACK AND FIELD

• The Star-Ledger reported on December 12, 2001, that 9-year-old Andrew Bednarsky of New Jersey won the 3,000-meter event at the U.S. Association for Track and Field (USATF) N.J. Junior Olympic Championship at Warinanco Park in Elizabeth, N.J., on November 4 with a time of 11:11. Bednarsky went on to capture the USATF Region 2 Junior Olympic Championship at Holmdel Park, N.J., on November 18 with a time of 11:43.

Bednarsky capped his performance by taking the USATF National Championship at Pioneer Park in Lincoln, Nebraska by six seconds in 11:29, and finishing fifth at the AAU National Championship in Orlando, Florida, on December 1, 2001, despite posting a 10:50 for the 3,000-meters.

- Compiled by Andrew J. Nynka

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 13, 2002, No. 2, Vol. LXX

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