SPORTSLINE (06/26/05)

SPORTSLINE

Chess

In a June 12 article, the New York Post reported on an entirely fraudulent international chess tournament, called the "Heroes of Chornobyl Memorial Tournament." Organizers of the competition claimed the tournament was held on April 14-26 in the Ukrainian town of Slavutych.

The Ukrainian Chess Federation investigated allegations that the tournament had, in fact, never been held, and that the 14 internationally rated players listed on the event's website as invitees never played each other.

"We came across an open and shameless falsification," said the head of the Ukrainian Chess Federation, Viktor Petrov, according to the Post.

"Did you not understand what a sin you were committing?" Petrov demanded to know from the organizers, according to the Post. Petrov said the bogus tournament was humiliating to "the memory of the numerous victims and true heroes of that terrible catastrophe."

Ukrainian American Iryna Zenyuk was recently raised to the level of "expert" chess player. Schooled in chess by her grandfather in Ukraine, she has traveled around the globe to destinations such as Southern California and Crete, Greece, where she acted as the primary U.S. representative at the 2004 World Youth Chess Championship.

Zenyuk is ranked No. 13 in the U.S. women's category and hopes to attain the level of "master" chess player by this summer. She is currently a student at Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, N.Y., studying aerospace engineering. She will graduate in 2008, and hopes to pursue a career involving aircraft or space shuttles.

Soccer

With a buffer of seven points at the top of Group 2 in the European qualifying zone, Ukraine appears poised to qualify for its ever major international tournament.

"We're now 99.9 percent certain of making the trip to Germany," coach Oleh Blokhin said after the team's 1-0 victory in Greece on June 8, which came courtesy of an Andriy Husin goal with eight minutes left in the game.

The Ukrainian national team has been near-perfect in the campaign to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. They have won seven games (four of them on the road) and have tied two. In order to miss qualifying for soccer's biggest international tournament, Ukraine would need to lose its remaining three games, while Turkey would have to win all of its games.

However, Ukraine is reluctant to call the job done just yet. The team failed at the play-off stage in two of its last three qualifying campaigns. A loss against Croatia eliminated Ukraine from the 1998 World Cup in France and then Germany ousted the team from the 2002 World Cup in Korea/Japan.

A third major upset came in the UEFA Euro 2004 preliminary competition. The Football Federation of Ukraine then decided to bring in former Soviet international soccer star Oleh Blokhin to coach the Ukrainian team.

A European Player of the Year in 1975, Blokhin instantly found himself on the same wavelength as his star player, Andriy Shevchenko. Both Blokhin and Shevchenko appear to have come together successfully to move Ukraine to the brink of qualifying for the upcoming World Cup.

Ukraine will play Georgia on the road on September 3, and then play at home against Turkey on September 7. It will finish its qualifying competitions with a game at home against Albania on October 8.

During its qualifying campaign Ukraine has beaten Georgia, Turkey, Albania and Denmark, and has two wins against Kazakhstan. The team also tied Denmark and Greece.

Former long-time New Jersey resident Chris Adamkiewicz was recently inducted into the South Jersey Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

The honor came from coaching varsity soccer at Clearview High School, where he has been for 25 years. Adamkiewicz spent all four years of college playing soccer at Glassboro State College, where in 1976 he was named captain, first team all-league and New Jersey goalkeeper of the year. Perhaps his most prominent accomplishment is the all-time National Collegiate Athletic Association record he holds for his 21.64 saves per game in 1976. His Clearview High School teams have recorded 243 wins, 140 losses, 37 ties and three league championships.

Coach Adamkiewicz also paid his dues to the rich history of Ukrainian athleticism by playing for the Newark Ukrainian Sitch Soccer club, where he remained until 1978.

Adamkiewicz now resides in King of Prussia, Pa., with his wife, Lorrie, and daughters Kasey, Alexa and Haley. He is the director of both the Launfal Soccer Camp at Swarthmore College, and the Timberlake Soccer Camp at Neumann College.

Track and field

Ukraine's Serhiy Lebid took 14th place at the World Cross Country Championships in St. Etienne and St. Galmier, France, on March 20. Ethiopia's Kenenisa Bekele took first place with a time of 35 minutes and six seconds, while Eritrea's Zersenay Tadesse took second place with a time of 35:20. Qatar's Abdullah Ahmad Hassan took third place with a time of 35:34, while Lebid finished the race in 36:33.

Ukraine's Ivan Heshko took first place in the men's 1,500-meter event at the Athens Super Grand Prix in Tsiklitiria, Greece, on June 14. Heshko finished the race in 3 minutes and 33.29 seconds, while Qatar's Daham Najim Bashir took second place with a time of 3:33.62. Portugal's Rui Silva took third place with a time of 3:33.62.

Serhiy Demydiuk of Ukraine took second place in the men's 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.38 seconds, while Arend Watkins of the United States took first place with a time of 13.23. Duane Ross of the United States took third place with a time of 13.38.

Ukraine's Zhanna Block took second place in the women's 100-meter race with a time of 11.19 seconds, while Jamaica's Sherone Simpson took first place with a time of 11.15. Yeoryía Koklóni of Greece took third place with a time of 11.33.

In the women's discus, Ukraine's Olena Antonova took fourth place with a throw of 204.63 feet, while her teammate Natalia Fokina took sixth place with a throw of 199.87 feet. Germany's Franka Dietzsch took first place with a throw of 212.99 feet, and Vera Pospísilová-Cechlová of the Czech Republic took second place with a throw of 207.05 feet. Russia's Natalya Sadova took third place with a throw of 205.68 feet.

Tatiana Tereschuk Antipova took sixth place in the women's 400-meter hurdles, finishing with a time of 55.67 seconds, while Australia's Jana Pittman took first place with a time of 53.44. Poland's Anna Jesien took second place with a time of 54.27, and Surita Febbraio of the Republic of South Africa took third place with a time of 54.66.

Ukraine's Nelia Neporadna took seventh place in the women's 1,500-meter event finishing with a time of four minutes and 3.73 seconds, while Yusuf Jamal Maryam of Brunei took first place with a time of 3:59.13. Bouchra Ghezielle of France took second place with a time of 4:01.90, and Alesya Turava of Belarus took third place with a time of 4:02.21.

In the men's high jump Ukraine's Andrii Sokolovskyi took seventh place clearing a height of 7.35 feet, while Jaroslav Bába of the Czech Republic took first place with a jump of 7.61 feet. Stefan Holm took second place with a jump of 7.61 feet, and Yaroslav Rybakov of Russia took third place with a jump of 7.55 feet.

In the men's triple jump Mykola Savolainen of Ukraine took ninth place with a jump of 54.53 feet, while Romania's Marian Oprea took first place with a jump of 57.48. Konstadínos Zalaggítis took second place with a jump of 56.33, and Yoandri Betanzos of Cuba took third place with a jump of 56.20.

Denys Yurchenko of Ukraine took 11th place in the men's pole vault, clearing a height of 17.78 feet, while Germany's Lars Börgeling took first place with 18.93 feet. Tim Lobinger of Germany took second place with a jump of 18.93 feet, while Rens Blom of the Netherlands and Konstadínos Filippídis tied for third place with a jump of 18.77 feet.

Ukraine's Tetiana Lyakhovych took 12th place in the women's javelin with a throw of 170.24 feet, while Germany's Steffi Nerius took first place with a 213.52 feet. Cuba's Osleidys Menéndez took second place with a 213.29 feet, and her teammate Sonia Bisset took third place with 207.58 feet.

- compiled by Andrew Nynka and Danylo Peleschuk

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