SPORTSLINE (11/16/03)

SPORTSLINE

"UNESCO Champion"

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization named Serhiy Bubka of Ukraine a UNESCO Champion for Sport on November 4 during a ceremony at the organization's headquarters in Paris.

According to the UNESCO website, the award recognizes "Bubka's role in the promotion of peace and tolerance through sport and the Olympic spirit, his humanitarian activities in favor of young people, his action to enable disadvantaged children to benefit from physical education and his dedication to the organization's ideas."

Ice Hockey

Jordin Tootoo, who became the first player of Inuit descent to play in a National Hockey League game when his Nashville Predators' took on the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on October 9, is also part Ukrainian. According to the Canadian Press, Tootoo's father, Barney, is of Inuk heritage, while his mother, Rose, is Ukrainian. The Canadian news wire reported that the five-foot-nine, 20-year-old hails from Rankin Inlet, Nunavet, a town located just south of the Arctic Circle with a population of some 2,500.

Swimming

Ukrainian swimmer Natalia Khudiakova was suspended from international competition for two years on October 13 for using an anabolic steroid during the 2003 World Championships, the Associated Press reported recently. She finished in seventh place in the 50-meter butterfly at the World Championships in Barcelona, Spain. That seventh-place finish has been stripped from her and was awarded to Spain's Angela San Juan, swimming's governing body, FINA, said in a statement recently.

Rowing

Ukraine took fifth place in the women's quadruple scull event at the 2003 International Rowing Federation World Championships in Milan, Italy, finishing the race in 6 minutes and 55.40 seconds. The performance earned the team a spot at next year's Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Austria took first place in the race with a time of 6:46.52, while Belarus took second place with a time of 6:48.87, and Germany took third place, finishing the race in 6:49.34.

Ukraine took first place in the B pool final of the women's double scull event, finishing the race in 7:00.19. Although they did not qualify for the A pool final, the crew's seventh place overall finish was good enough to earn them a spot at next year's Summer Olympic Games. New Zealand won the event, finishing first in the A pool with a time of 6:45.79. Germany took second place with a time of 6:47.57, while Russia took third place with a time of 6:49.50.

Cycling

Ukraine's Iryna Shpiliova took 15th place in the women's junior division at the 2003 World Road Cycling Championships in Hamilton, Ontario, on October 10. She finished 32 seconds behind Loes Markerink of the Netherlands, whose time of 2 hours, 5 minutes and 39 seconds earned her the gold medal. Russia's Irina Tolmacheva finished the 74.4-kilometer race in second place, while Germany's Sabine Fischer took third place.

Triathlon

Volodymyr Polikarpenko of Ukraine took first place in the men's elite division at the International Triathlon Union's 2003 Cancun World Cup competition in Cancun, Mexico, on November 2. Polikarpenko finished the race in 1 hour, 54 minutes and 39 seconds, while Austria's Brad Kahlefeldt took second place, finishing the race in 1:54:46. Denmark's Rasmus Henning took third place with a time of 1:54:58.

Marathon

Natalia Berkut of Ukraine took 13th place in the women's division at the New York City Marathon on November 2, finishing the 26.2-mile race in 2 hours, 35 minutes and 23 seconds. Kenya's Margaret Okayo took first place with a time of 2:22:31, and her teammate Catherine Ndereba took second place with a time of 2:23:04. Lornah Kiplagat of the Netherlands took third place, finishing with a time of 2:23:43.

Chess

Ukraine's Ruslan Ponomariov finished in a disappointing 13th place at the International Chess Federation's (FIDE) 2003 Rapid Chess World Championship in Cap d'Agde, France, on October 24-30. Viswanathan Anand of India took the title, defeating Ponomariov in the quarterfinals. Russia's Vladimir Kramnik took second place, while his teammate Peter Svidler took third.

Track and field

Denys Yurchenko of Ukraine took first place in the men's pole vault at the 2003 Memorial Van Damme meet in Brussels, Belgium, on September 5, clearing a height of 19.03 feet. South Africa's Okkert Brits took second place with a jump of 19.03 feet, and Romain Mesnil of France took third with a jump of 18.70 feet.

Ukraine's Zhanna Block finished the women's 100-meter event in a disappointing fifth place, finishing the race in 11.12 seconds. Kelli White of the United States won the race with a time of 10.87, while her teammates Chryste Gaines and Torri Edwards came in second and third, respectively, posting times of 10.88 and 10.98.

Iryna Lishchynska of Ukraine took 11th place in the women's 1,500-meters, finishing the race in 4 minutes and 5.26 seconds. Turkey's Sureyya Ayhan took first place with a time of 3:55.33, while Russia's Yelena Zadorozhnaya took second place with a time of 4:00.12, and Yekaterina Rozenberg of Russia finished in third with a time of 4:00.58.

Tatiana Tereschuk Antipova took fifth place in the women's 400-meter hurdles, finishing the race in 55.06 seconds. Russia's Yuliya Pechonkina took first place with a time of 53.49, Sandra Glover of the United States took second place, finishing in 53.87, and Romania's Ionela Tirlea took third place, finishing the race in 54.83 seconds.

Viktoria Stiopina of Ukraine took second place in the women's high jump, clearing 6.50 feet, while her teammate, Vita Palamar, took fourth place, each clearing 6.50 feet. Hestrie Cloete of the Republic of South Africa took first place, clearing 6.66 feet, and Russia's Yelena Yelesina took third place, jumping 6.50 feet. Ukraine's Inga Babakova and Iryna Mykhalchenko tied for 10th place, clearing 6.23 feet.

Ukraine's Olena Hovorova took fifth place in the women's triple jump with her mark of 47.31 feet. Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva took first place in the event, jumping 49.67 feet, and Cuba's Yamila Aldama took second place with a mark of 49.21 feet.

Vita Pavlysh of Ukraine took first place in the women's shot put at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Athletics Final held in Monaco on September 13-14. Russia's Svetlana Krivelyova took second place with a throw of 64.50 feet, and Nadezhda Ostapchuk of Belarus took third place with a throw of 64.01 feet. Pavlysh earned her gold medal with a throw of 65.16 feet.

Ukraine's Andrii Skvaruk took fifth place in the men's hammer throw on September 7, hitting a mark of 265.22 feet. Hungary's Adrian Annus took first place with a throw of 269.40 feet, Libor Charfreitag took second place with a throw of 266.47 feet, and Ivan Tikhon of Belarus took third with 265.22 feet.

In the men's long jump, Ukraine's Volodymyr Ziuskov took sixth place with a jump of 26.05 feet. Dwight Phillips of the United States took first place in the event with a jump of 27.26 feet, and Taher Al-Sabee Hussein of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia took second place with a jump of 27.23 feet. Ignisious Gaisah of Ghana came in third with 27.10.

Yurii Bilonoh of Ukraine took second place in the men's shot put with a throw of 67.36 feet, and Christian Cantwell of the United States took first place with a throw of 68.70 feet. Andrei Mikhnevich of Belarus took third place with a throw of 67.29 feet.

Andrii Sokolovskyi of Ukraine took sixth place in the men's high jump, clearing 7.45 feet, while Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia took first place in the event, clearing 7.55 feet. Stefan Holm of Sweden took second place with a jump of 7.55 feet, and Jamie Nieto of the United States took third place, clearing 7.55 feet.

Ukraine's Ivan Heshko took third place in the men's 1,500-meters, finishing the race in 3 minutes and 40.72 seconds. Kenya's Paul Korir took first place with a time of 3:40.09, while his teammate Alex Kipchirchir took second place with a time of 3:40.21.

Iryna Sekachova of Ukraine took seventh place in the women's hammer throw on September 7 with a throw of 218.05 feet. Cuba's Yipsi Moreno took first place in the event with a throw of 240.88 feet, Russia's Olga Kuzenkova took second place with a throw of 233.47 feet, and Mihaela Melinte of Romania took third with 227.26 feet.

In the women's high jump event, Ukraine's Palamar took second place, clearing a height of 6.59 feet. Hestria Cloete of the Republic of South Africa took first place with a jump of 6.59 feet, and Kajsa Bergqvist took third place with a jump of 6.53 feet. Ukraine's Babakova took fifth place in the event, clearing 6.43 feet.

Ukraine's Lishchynska took 10th place in the women's 1,500-meters, finishing the race in 4 minutes and 3.89 seconds, while Turkey's Ayhan took first place with a time of 3:57.72. Kenya's Jackline Maranga took second place with a time of 4:01.48, and Hayley Tullet of Great Britain took third place with a time of 4:01.60.

Ukraine's Hovorova took sixth place in the women's triple jump with a mark of 47.44 feet, while Russia's Tatyana Lebedeva took first place in the event with a jump of 49.64 feet. Aldama of Cuba took second place with a jump of 49.18 feet, and Frangoise Mbango Etone of Cameroon took third place with a jump of 48.66 feet.

Ukraine's Antipova took fourth place in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a time of 54.63 seconds, while Sandra Glover of the United States took first place with a time of 53.65 seconds. Andrea Blackett of Barbados took second place with a time of 54.28, and Ionela Tirlea of Romania took third place in the race, finishing in 54.44 seconds.

In the women's discus, Ukraine's Olena Antonova took fourth place with a throw of 206.82 feet, and the Czech Republic's Vera Pospisilova took first place with a throw of 214.63 feet. American Aretha Hill took second place with a throw of 213.58 feet, and Ekterini Voggoli of Greece took third place with a throw of 208.50 feet.

Ukraine's Block took seventh place in the women's 100-meters, finishing the race in 11.27 seconds. Chryste Gaines of the United States took first place in the race with a time of 10.86, France's Christine Arron took second with a time of 11.04, and American Torri Edwards took third with 11.06.

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