Biathlon star Zubrylova moves from Ukraine to Belarus (07/21/02)

Biathlon star Zubrylova moves from Ukraine to Belarus

by Ivan Poltavets
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

KYIV - Ukrainian biathlete Olena Zubrylova and her personal coach and husband, Roman Zubrylov, moved to Belarus on July 9 after expressing dissatisfaction with the way the Ukrainian sports officials have treated them since the biathlete failed to meet expectations during the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City this past February. Ms. Zubrylova's contract expired this year and the renegotiation process with Ukrainian authorities failed, causing the Zubrylovs to leave.

"The thing is that during the last two years my husband and I were financing preparations for the competitions on our own according to a personal schedule," said Ms. Zubrylova in an interview with the Belarusian newspaper Pressball. "After the Olympics, where my performance was not so good, there were some decisions made. Our federation decided to shift the emphasis to the men's team." She added later that, "In this kind of game I felt myself left out."

During a news conference held on July 11, the chair of the State Sports Committee, Maria Bulatova, defended the treatment of the biathlon star and estimated that Ms. Zubrylova's preparation had cost Ukraine about $2.5 million, and her salary was about $585 per month. In addition, she said Ms. Zubrylova had received some $15,000 in prizes in the last four years.

Ms. Bulatova explained that even after such an investment, Ukraine will not receive any compensation from Belarus and will have no way of banning Ms. Zubrylova from competing for Belarus if she decides to abandon Ukrainian citizenship.

The press conference unwittingly also showed the extent of the discord within the Ukrainian sports community over how Ukraine did at the Winter Olympics and the state of its sports programs - to which Ms. Zubrylova had alluded in comments she made before her departure by train.

With cameras and tape recorders rolling, Ms. Bulatova and Volodymyr Brynzak, the head of the Biathlon Federation, started to quarrel over financing issues.

"You said that four rounds of the World cup were financed by [the State Committee on Sports and Youth]. In reality you didn't finance a single round. She became a world champion with the aid of the federation's money," Mr. Brynzak told Ms. Bulatova, addressing earlier claims made by Ms. Bulatova.

Ms. Zubrylova is not the first Ukrainian winter sport athlete to decide to stop performing under the Ukrainian flag. Earlier, several athletes had left for Russia. A top freestyle skier, Alla Tsuper, was the first to trade her Ukrainian citizenship for a Belarusian one, in order to obtain the opportunity to train in adequate conditions.

"I think that she did the right thing, if there are no chances in Ukraine," said Ms. Tsuper of Ms. Zubrylova's decision in an interview with Ukraine's Studio 1+1 television channel. "You need to participate in competitions. Here in Belarus there is a better attitude towards sports. There is no such thing in Ukraine."

It appears that Belarus has invested massively in the renovation of a sports base in Raubichi, which has lured some Russian athletes as well. In addition, Ms. Zubrylova reportedly will receive a presidential stipend of $1,500 monthly.

Ms. Zubrylova is no ordinary athlete. Her first success came in 1997 when she won three silver medals in individual events at the World Championships. In 1999 Ms. Zubrylova brought Ukraine a World Cup gold medal as she crossed the finish line of the 15-kilometer race with a Ukrainian flag in her hands. In all, she has won four World Championship gold medals during her career. Although her performance during the Salt Lake City Olympics, where she failed to medal, was disappointing, she made a comeback later during the 2002 season, winning a World Championship title in Holmenkollen, Norway, in March.

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