Turning the pages back... February 22, 1998 (02/17/02)

Turning the pages back...

February 22, 1998

Four years ago, when Ukraine participated in its second Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, The Ukrainian Weekly of February 22 carried a front-page story that highlighted the sports feats of a unique group of Ukrainian athletes.

Our sports reporter Andrij Wynnyckyj wrote: "Ukraine's aerial wünderkinder took the world by storm. Rarely seen on the World Cup circuit because of their country's lack of resources to cover travel expenses, competitors from Ukraine have made a mark on the esoteric sport of freestyle aerial skiing."

Following are excerpts from his story.

* * *

An astonishing contingent of four whirlers qualified for the finals of the women's competition and stayed in the top 10 to the last jump.

Tetiana Kozachenko, Alla Tsuper and Olena Yunchyk were all born in Rivne, while Yuliia Kliukova hails from Ivano-Frankivsk. They're also teenagers. Ms. Kozachenko was born December 18, 1981; Ms. Tsuper on April 16, 1979; Ms. Kliukova on January 10, 1982; and Ms. Yunchyk on September 9, 1982.

According to various North American TV commentators, a sage in Ukraine's Sports Ministry decided to apply principles of gymnastics and diving to freestyle aerial skiing and began bringing his country's youth into a burgeoning new program. Ms. Kozachenko, Ms. Tsuper and Ms. Yunchyk all signed on in 1992. Ms. Kliukova joined in 1996.

At Hakuba on February 16, Ms. Tsuper led the pack in the elimination rounds with a head-turning mark of 178.46. In the finals the next day, winds were gusting and treacherous. Ms. Kozachenko's conservative but near-flawlessly executed back double twist earned her a 167.32 point total after two jumps. When U.S. veteran Nikki Stone fought off back problems with a high-difficulty jump, followed by a technically solid effort by Switzerland's Colette Brand, Ms. Kozachenko was still poised to earn Ukraine's second medal, a bronze. It was not to be. The last competitor, China's Xu Nannan, soared up into silver position, knocking the Ukrainian off the podium.

Ms. Tsuper was right behind her compatriot in the standings, fifth with 166.12 points, Ms. Kliukova was eighth with 153.15 and Ms. Yunchyk was 10th with 139.05 - an astounding domination of the field as four of the 12 qualifiers were from Ukraine.

In the men's event, Stanislav Kravchuk took Ukraine to a ninth-place finish in a strong and daring field led by the classy and elegant U.S. jumper Eric Bergoust, who set a world points record of 255.64.

Source: "Ukrainian teens make their mark in freestyle aerials at Nagano Games" by Andrij Kudla Wynnyckyj, The Ukrainian Weekly, February 22, 1998, Vol. LXVI, No. 8.

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