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Bohdan Bondarenko continues to raise the bar in high jumping, consistently winning gold in most international competitions.
In ATHLETICS, Ruslan Dmytrenko won two gold medals at the IAAF World Race Walking Cup in China on May 3-4. Dmytrenko won the men’s 20-km race and partnered with Ihor Hlavan and Nazar Kovalenko in the men’s 20-km team race. High jumper Andriy Protsenko won gold at the international track and field championships in France on May 11. High jumper Bohdan Bondarenko won first place with a jump of 2.42 meters at the IAAF Diamond League event Adidas Grand Prix in New York on June 14. Nataliya Semenova won gold in women’s discus at the IAAF Meeting in Madrid on July 19. Bondarenko won gold in the high jump (2.35 meters) at the 22nd European Athletics Championship in Zurich on August 12-17. On August 30 Dmytrenko won gold in the 10-km race walk at the Voronovo Cup in Moscow with a personal best time of 38.50, while Lyudmyla Olyanovska won gold in the women’s 10-km walk. Oksana Okaneva won gold in the women’s high jump (1.94 meters) at the 50th Paliio Citta della Quereia in Roverto, Italy on September 2. At the Rieti Meeting 2014 on September 7 in Rieti, Italy, Bondarenko again won gold in the high jump (2.36 m), followed by another gold medal in the high jump (2.37 m) at the IAAF Continental Cup in Morocco on September 13-14.
The EuroBasket 2015 originally to be hosted by Ukraine will now be hosted by another country due to the unrest in Ukraine. Inga Orekhova, daughter of professional BASKETBALL playing parents, completed her college career at the University of South Florida and was drafted 18th overall by the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream. Ex-NBA coach and television analyst Mike Fratello has given Ukrainian basketball a new identity since taking over as coach of the national team. There is hope for the nation’s squad at EuroBasket 2015.
Ukraine won its first gold in the junior play competition at the 21st BIATHLON European Championship in the Czech Republic on January 19-February 4.
In BOXING, heavyweight Vyacheslav Glazkov defeated Tomasz Adamek on March 15 in Bethlehem, Pa., to pick up the IBF North American heavyweight title. Wladimir Klitschko retained his four heavyweight title belts when he knocked out challenger Alex Leapai in Oberhausen, Germany, on April 26. Vasyl Lomachenko scored a 12-round decision over undefeated Gary Russell Jr. to win the WBO featherweight title on June 21 in Carson, Calif. Lomachenko tied with Thailand’s Saensak Muangsurin for winning a world title in his third pro fight. Klitschko knocked out Kubrat Pulev of Bulgaria in Hamburg, Germany, on November 15. A fifth-round knockout, it was his 63rd career victory.
Anna Solovey surprised with top honors, her first medal in an elite category, at a CYCLING race in Spain on September 23.
Ukraine’s men’s team (Nikishyn, Karyuchenko, Gerei and Reizlin) won gold in the Epee Fencer World Championship on January 24-26 in Ligno, Italy. Olha Kharlan won the Orleans Women’s saber Grand Prix 2014 held January 31-February 1 in Orleans, France. Olha Kharlan won the European Champion title in saber FENCING for the fifth time (individual category) in France on June 9. Kharlan won gold in the individual saber event at the 2014 World Fencing Championship in Kazan, Russia, on July 15-23.
The WHL’s Saskatoon Blades hosted a Ukrainian theme night on January 5 when they played Lethbridge. Toronto Maple Leafs winger Joffrey Lupul wants to be known as a HOCKEY player and not as a major celebrity. Being traded four times before the age of 28 has made him more mature, serious and aware. Johnny Boychuk finally developed into a solid, all-around NHL defenseman with the Boston Bruins. His “Boychuk bombs” are now playing out on Long Island. NHL veterans Ruslan Fedotenko and Alexei Ponikarovsky were joined by 25 other Ukrainians playing in the KHL during the 2013-2014 season. Travis Zajac of the Devils was ranked as the No. 1 Ukrainian player in the NHL. His pairing with Jaromir Jagr has produced dynamic results for New Jersey. Eighteen players of some Ukrainian descent were on active NHL rosters as of late December.
At the European Cup of JUDO in Slovakia on September 6-7, Vitaliy Kovtunov (90 kg) won gold. At the under-21 European Championship in Romania on September 19-21, Ukraine’s Yakiv Khamimo (over-100 kg) won a gold medal and Anastasiya Turchyn (78 kg) won gold in the women’s division. Svitlana Iaromka (over 78 kg) won a gold medal at the Continental Judo Cup Open in Estonia on September 27-28.
Eleven- and 12-year-old little leaguers played ball in Kyiv on June 5-7 with three teams participating in the 15th championship of LITTLE LEAGUE Ukraine. The team from Kirovohrad was on to the regional championships in Kutno, Poland, where they won two games and lost two games, playing as representatives of a free Ukraine. Ukraine finished with a 3-2 record in the Under-21 European Championship, 1-4 in the European Championship for Cadets and 4-2 in Women’s U-22 European Championship (softball). The war in Ukraine took a toll on the country’s Little League Baseball Championships held in Kremenets on September 15-19. The Rivne team dominated the local Kremenets squad, 11-1, to capture the 7th ULLC title.
In MARTIAL ARTS, Ukraine’s national Wushu team won 106 medals at the European Wushu Championship in Romania on May 8-12 (39 gold, 36 silver, 31 bronze).
Lucas Makowsky competed as a member of the Canadian long-track speed skating team at the 2014 Winter OLYMPICS. Vita Semerenko unexpectedly won a bronze medal in the woman’s biathlon 7.5-km sprint. Ukrainian Aliona Savchenko and German Robin Szolkowy won bronze in pairs figure skating. Ukraine’s athletes showed solidarity with their homeland while competing at the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Numerous Ukrainian athletes represented other countries at the Olympics, with several having their birthplaces changed to hide their ethnic background. Team Ukraine won 29 total medals (nine gold, nine silver, 11 bronze) at the Summer Youth Olympic Games concluded on August 28 in Nanjing, China.