SPORTSLINE (07/06/03)

SPORTSLINE

Soccer

Ukraine's national team tied Spain 2-2 after Oleksander Horshkov hit a dramatic volley 25 meters outside of the Spanish goal to tie the March 29 Euro 2004 qualifying contest with only seconds remaining in regulation play. Ukraine opened the scoring in the 11th minute on a goal by Andrii Voronin. Spain equalized on a goal in the 84th minute and then took the lead in the 87th minute.

Ukraine then droped a crucial Group 6 match to Greece on June 11 by a score of 1-0. Ukraine's next match will be on September 6 against Northern Ireland. Ukraine currently sits in third place with nine points, while Greece holds first place with 12 points and Spain is in second place with 11 points. The top two teams in each group qualify for next summer's Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal. Group 6 also includes fourth place Armenia and Northern Ireland, currently in last place.

Dynamo Kyiv edged Ukrainian premier division arch-rivals Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2 to win the inaugural Valerii Lobanovsky memorial tournament on May 14.

Dynamo striker Maksym Shatskikh scored the golden goal in the fifth minute of overtime to break a 2-2 deadlock following the 90-minute regulation period.

The three-day tournament, held in Kyiv, honored the late Dynamo Kyiv trainer who guided the club team to two European Cup Winner's Cups, one in 1975 and the other in 1986.

Lobanovsky died on May 13, 2002, at the age of 63, two days after undergoing brain surgery after suffering a stroke during a Ukrainian premier division match at FC Metalurg Zaporizhia. He was posthumously awarded the country's highest honor, the Hero of Ukraine award, last year.

On May 12 Hryhorii Surkis, president of the Ukrainian Football Federation, and Michel Platini, member of both the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) and Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) executive committees, unveiled a bronze statue to commemorate the late coach.

Mr. Platini also presented Lobanovsky's daughter, Svetlana, with the Ruby Order of Merit on behalf of UEFA President Lennart Johnson. "The UEFA Order of Merit, introduced in 1998, thanks and rewards individuals who have devoted a large part of their life to football, and who have contributed to the game's development and history," UEFA's website explains.

Track and field

Ukraine's Ivan Heshko took third place in the men's 1,500-meter event at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Super Grand Prix in Tsiklitiria, Greece, on June 24. He finished the race in 3 minutes and 32.73 seconds, while Kenya's Cornelius Chirchir took first place with a time of 3:32.61. Fellow Kenyan Alex Kipchirchir took second place, finishing the race in 3:32.67.

Oleksii Lukashevych of Ukraine took fourth place in the men's long jump with a mark of 8.19 meters. Dwight Phillips of the United States took first place with a jump of 8.44 meters. Greece's Tsatoumas Louis took second place with a jump of 8.34 meters and America's Savante Stringfellow took third place with a jump of 8.28 meters.

In the women's 100-meters Ukraine's Zhanna Block took second place with a time of 11.13 seconds. She finished behind France's Christine Arron, whose time of 11.09 was good enough for the gold medal. America's Chryste Gaines took third place with a time of 11.23. Ukraine's Olena Pastushenko came in sixth place with a time of 11.46.

Ukraine's Yulia Krevsun came in sixth place in the women's 800-meters, finishing with a time of 2 minutes and 1.48 seconds. Slovakia's Jolanda Ceplak took first place with a time of 1:57.79, while Russia's Larisa Chzhao took second place with a time of 1:59.52. Morocco's Mina Ait Hammou took third place with 1:59.62.

Tatiana Tereschuk Antipova of Ukraine came in fifth place in the women's 400-meter hurdles, finishing in 56.44 seconds. Sandra Glover of the United States took first place with a time of 54.79, while South Africa's Surita Febbraio took second place with a time of 55.15. Androula Sialou of Cyprus took third place with 55.93.

Olena Hovorova of Ukraine came in fifth place in the women's triple jump with a mark of 14.48 meters. Teammate Inessa Kravets came in eighth place with a jump of 14.19 meters. Cuba's Yamila Aldama took first place with a jump of 15.00 meters, while Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva took second place with a jump of 15.00 meters. Italy's Magdelana Martz took third with a jump of 14.68 meters.

In the women's discus Ukraine's Olena Antonova came in fourth place with a throw of 63.01 meters. Germany's Franka Dietzsch took first place with a throw of 65.47 meters, while Vera Pospisilova of the Czech Republic took second place with a throw of 63.38 meters. Great Britain's Ekaterini Voggoli took third place with a throw of 63.35 meters.

Gymnastics

Russia beat Ukraine in the final at the 2003 European Team Championships in Moscow on May 4. Russia took the gold medal with a score of 140.574 points, while Ukraine took second place with a score of 138.324. Belarus took third place, finishing with 71.399 points.

Ukrainian Oleksander Beresh won second place in the men's horizontal bar event with a score of 9.675 at an International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) world cup event in Thessaloniki, Greece, on March 30. Aljaz Pegan of Slovenia won the event with a score of 9.675, and Greece's Vlasios Maras took third place with a score of 9.65.

Ukraine's Roman Zozulia took third place in the men's floor event, finishing with a score of 9.55. Bulgaria's Iordan Iovtchev took first place with a score of 9.725, while Latvia's Evgeny Sapronenko took second place with a score of 9.575.

Zozulia took fifth place in the men's rings event finishing with a score of 9.6. Greece's Dimosthenis Tampakos took first place with a score of 9.75. Bulgaria's Iordan Iovtchev took second place with a score of 9.725 and Italy's Matteo Morandi took third place with a score of 9.65.

In the men's parallel bars Zozulia took second place with a score of 9.625. He finished behind Romania's Marius Daniel Urzica who took first place with a score of 9.7. China's Dezhi Li took third place with a score of 9.6 and Ukrainian Ruslan Miezientsev came in fourth place with a score of 9.375.

On the women's side of competition in Greece, Ukraine's Olena Kvasha came in second place in the women's vault with a score of 9.362. She finished behind Russia's Natalia Ziganshina, who finished with a score of 9.45. Oxana Chusovitina of Uzbekistan took third place with a score of 9.337. Ukraine's Alina Kozich came in fifth place with a score of 9.137.

In the women's uneven bars Kozich took second place with a score of 9.45. She finished behind Russia's Svetlana Khorkina, who had a score of 9.7. Belgium's Aagjia Van Walleghem took third place with a score of 9.35, and Ukrainian Iryna Krasnianska came in fourth place with a score of 9.3.

Kozich came in eighth place in the women's balance beam with a score of 8.675. She finished behind Romania's Oana Ban, who took first place with a score of 9.325. Italy's Ilaria Colombo took second place with a score of 9.25, and China's Nan Zhang came in third place with a score of 9.225.

Ukraine's Kvasha came in fourth place in the women's floor event, finishing with a score of 9.05. Her teammate, Kozich, came in eighth place with a score of 7.75. Romania's Florica Leonida won the event with a score of 9.5. Russia's Svetlana Khorkina took second place with a score of 9.25, and Romania's Oana Ban took third place with a score of 9.225.

Ukraine's Oleksander Chornohos took eighth place in the men's individual trampoline at a world cup trampoline and tumbling competition in Levallois, France, on June 11-14. Chornohos finished with a score of 13.30, while Russia's Alexandre Moskalenko took first place with a score of 40.80. Japan's Takayuki Kawanishi took second place with a score of 40.80 and Dmitri Pliarouch of Belarus took third place with a score of 40.70.

The Ukrainian pair of Yurii Nikitin and Chornohos won the men's synchronized event with a score of 51.60. The French team of Mickael Jala and Sebastian Laifa took second place with a score of 51.50, and Canada's Michel Greene and Mathieu Turgeon took third place with a score of 50.20.

Ukraine's Olena Movchan took fourth place in the women's individual event with a score of 39.50. Germany's Anna Dogonadze took first place with a score of 40.60, while China's Shanshan Huang took second place with a score of 39.90. Canada's Karen Cockburn took third place with a score of 39.80 and Ukraine's Yulia Domchevska took the 10th spot but failed to qualify for the finals.

The Ukrainian pair of Movchan and Domchevska took second place in the women's synchronized event, finishing with a score of 48.30. They were beaten by Great Britain's Kirsten Lawton and Claire Wright, who won with a score of 49.90. Germany's Jessica Simon and Anna Dogonadze took third place with a score of 48.30.

Ukraine's Olena Chabanenko took second place in the women's tumbling event, finishing with a score of 72.10. Russia's Anna Korobeinikova took first place with a score of 72.20, and Great Britain's Kathryn Peberdy took third place with a score of 71.40.

Swimming

Joanne Malar of Hamilton, Ontario, has announced her intention to return to competition with the hope of competing in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. The 27-year-old Malar, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, was a national team member from 1990 to 2000. She won 71 international medals, 29 Canadian titles and a gold medal at the Commonwealth and Pan Am Games.

Malar announced her retirement on January 25, 2001. She still holds three national records. Malar took part in the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympic Games, although she has yet to win an Olympic medal. Her closest finish came in 1996 in Atlanta where she took fourth place in the 200-meter individual medley.

Diaspora sports

The Ukrainian Nationals won their last two regular season matches to earn their second straight Inter County Soccer League title. The Ukrainian club soccer team beat UGH 3-2 on May 29 and completed their season on June 1 with a 10-1 win against Black Sheep, giving them a final regular season record of 10 wins, three ties and one loss.

- compiled by Andrew Nynka

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