Turning the pages back... August 4, 1996 (08/04/02)

Turning the pages back...

August 4, 1996

On August 4, 1996, on the last day of the XXVI Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta and in one of the very last events, Volodymyr Klychko put the exclamation point on Ukraine's Olympic competition by taking the gold medal in boxing in the super heavyweight division. He also scored a major upset in the boxing world.

The 6-foot-5-inch Klychko opened the third round with a series of combinations, outscoring his opponent, Paea Wolfgramm of Tonga, 5-0, which gave him a 7-3 victory. He said afterwards that he felt he was dominating the fight even as the bout went on, and was confident that he had won. "I already felt that I won, he explained. "I gave 110 percent. I exerted the minimum energy and didn't take any risks that might keep me from winning."

Our correspondent on the scene in Atlanta, Roman Woronowycz, reported: "... in the opening round, Klychko and Wolfgramm circled each other, measuring punches but throwing very few. Both boxers had trouble finding scoring opportunities. With 34 seconds left, Wolfgramm, who outweighed Klychko by 79 pounds, landed a left hook for the only point of the round. The second started the same until Klychko found his aim, landing two rights. But Wolfgramm saw an opening when Klychko dropped his left guard and landed a right cross that seemed to stun Klychko. At the end of the round the Tongan still led by a slim 3-2 margin."

In the final round Klychko took advantage of his superior speed. He stiffened his jab and used it effectively to bloody Wolfgramm's nose. He weaved in and out and landed several rights, and convincingly dominated the round for the victory.

Days before, Klychko had stunned the boxing world and made himself the favorite when he beat Laurence Clay-Bey, the U.S. hopeful, in the second round of the tournament. He followed that performance with a whipping of Attila Levin of Switzerland and Alexei Lezin of Russia, another favorite.

Several hours after his historic victory, Volodymyr Klychko - who was not even among the top 10 athletes listed by the magazine of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Olimpiiska Arena - carried the Ukrainian flag during the closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games.

Source: "Super heavyweight Klychko wins gold, marking major upset in boxing world" and "Olympians rest on their laurels at closing ceremony of Summer Games; Ukraine makes top 10 in medal count," both by Roman Woronowycz, and "Olympic successes" (editorial), The Ukrainian Weekly, August 11, 1996, Vol. LXIV, No. 32.

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