Olympics
• Twenty-eight Russian Olympic athletes at the 2014 Sochi Games are having their samples retested by the International Olympic Committee. Manipulations of the samples, it said, could lead to sanctions. Russia won 33 medals, 13 of which were gold. All of this comes after Prof. Richard McLaren’s report that showed a state-sponsored doping program in Russia between 2011 and 2015, and masked results using salt, coffee and in some cases male urine was used for female hockey players. Samples from the 2010 Vancouver Games are also being retested. In the wake of the report, Russia has lost the right to host the World Cup biathlon meeting in Tyumen in March and was stripped of a speed skating meet in Chelyabinsk.
• High jumper Vita Palamar of Ukraine had her 2008 bronze medal revoked by the International Olympic Committee. Among the 75 athletes whose tested samples showed positive results for banned substances (mostly the anabolic steroids Stanozolol or Turinabol), 40 were medal winners – many of them in track and field events and in weightlifting. Samples are stored for up to 10 years and new testing methods allow for smaller concentrations of banned substances to be detected.
Swimming
• Daryna Zevina won silver in the 200-meter backstroke (2:02-24 seconds) at the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championship in Windsor, Ontario, that was held on December 6-11, 2016. Ukraine finished in 20th place and tied with Slovenia.
• Mykola Romanchuk and Daryna Zevina won five medals at the FINA World Cup in Singapore on October 21-22, 2016. Romanchuk won two gold medals in the 400-meter and 1,500-meter freestyle races, and Zevina won three silver medals in women’s 50-meter, 100-meter and 200-meter backstroke. Romanchuk won the 1,500-meter freestyle and the 400-meter freestyle at the FINA World Cup events in Tokyo (14:26.39 seconds, 3:39.67 seconds) on October 25-26 and in Hong Kong (14:18.53 seconds, 3:40.18 seconds) on October 29-30. In the overall, Zevina finished in fifth place (270 points).
Sumo
• On November 21, 2016, Lviv hosted its first international sumo competition that attracted athletes from Ukraine, Poland and Azerbaijan. The Sumo Lviv Open Cup had a men’s lightweight division and men and women had an unlimited weight division. Ukrainian sumo wrestlers take inspiration from Ukrainian Japanese sumo legend Taiho Koki (Ivan Boryshko).
Biathlon
• Olena Pidhurshna finished in eighth place (14:31.3 seconds) in the mixed relay at the Biathlon World Championships in Hochfilzen, Austria, on February 9-12. Yulia Dzhima finished in ninth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (23:02.2 seconds).
• Anna Kryvonos, Kristina Dmytrenko, Taras Lesyuk and Anton Dudchenko won bronze in the mixed relay (1:23:17.7 seconds) at the Junior World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, on January 27-29. Dudchenko won bronze in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint (26:43.3 seconds), and Nazarii Cebrynski and Vitaliy Trush finished in fourth and eighth place, respectively. Kryvonos finished in fourth place in the junior women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint and Trush finished in 10th place in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint.
• Yuliia Dzhima won gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (21:02.3 seconds) and silver in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (30:24.2 seconds) at the European Biathlon Championship in Duszniki-Zdroj, Poland, on January 25-29. Anastasia Merkushyna won the bronze medal in the individual pursuit race (45.29.7 seconds); Merkushyna, Yuliia Dzhima, Alexxander Zhirnyy and Ruslan Tkalenko won bronze in the mixed relay (1:13:03.1 seconds); and Iryna Varynets and Andriy Dotsenko finished in fourth place (37:31.1 seconds) in the single mixed relay.
• Serhiy Semenov won bronze in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race (51:34.9 seconds) at the IBU World Cup in Antholz-Anterselva, Italy, on January 19-22. Yuliya Zhuravok, Yuliia Dzhima, Valj Semerenko and Anastasiya Merkushyna finished in fourth place in the women’s 4×6-kilometer relay race (1:09:49.9 seconds) Ukraine’s men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay team (Artem Pryma, Semenov, Vladimir Semakov and Dmytro Pidruchniy) finished in fourth place (1:14:43.9 seconds). Dzhima finished in 10th place in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start race (36:43.5 seconds).
• Alexander Zhirnyy tied with Tomass Krupcik of the Czech Republic (1:00:34.3 seconds) in the men’s 20-kilomter individual race at the IBU Cup in Arber, Germany, on January 14. Yuliya Zhuravok finished in fifth place in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race (54:13.2 seconds).
• Ukraine’s men’s team – Artem Pryma, Serhiy Semenov, Volodymyr Semakov and Vitaliy Kilchytsky – finished in fourth place (1:14:08.7 seconds) in the men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay team race at the IBU World Cup in Rupaulding, Germany, on January 11-15. Ukraine’s women’s team (Iryna Varynets, Yuliia Dzhima, Anastasiya Merkushyna and Olena Pidhrushna) also finished in fourth place (1:10:01.8 seconds) in the 4×6-kilomter relay. Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in seventh place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (23:33.7 seconds).
• Yuliia Dzhima finished in fifth place in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start race (38:33.1 seconds) in Oberhof, Germany, on January 5-8. Artem Pryma finished in ninth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit (38:41.0 seconds) and Olena Pidhrushna finished in seventh place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (23:19.8 seconds).
• Yana Bondar finished in sixth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (34:26.7 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, on January 5-8.
• Vladimir Semakov finished in sixth place in the men’s 20-kilometer individual race (51:25.5 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Obertilliach, Austria, on December 16-17, 2016.
• Vitaliy Trush won gold in the junior men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit (34:08.3 seconds) at the IBU Junior World Cup in Hochfilzen, Austria, on December 15-17, 2016. Anon Dudchenko finished in seventh place in the same race (35:41.0 seconds). Kristina Dmytrenko finished in fourth place in the junior women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (22:29.4 seconds). Trush won silver in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint (25:35.4 seconds) and Dudchenko finished in sixth place (26:16.1 seconds). Kristina Dmytrenko, Vlaeriya Dmytrenko and Anna Kryvonos finished in fifth place (58:18.4 seconds) in the junior women’s 3×6-kilometer relay; in the junior men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay, Ukraine (Vitaliy Trush, Dmytro Ivasenko, Taras Lesyuk and Anton Dudchenko) finished in sixth place (1:21:36.8 seconds). Kristina Dmytrenko finished in ninth place in the junior women’s 10-kilometer pursuit (33:04.1 seconds).
• Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in fifth place in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start race (36:29.1 seconds) at the IBU World Cup in Nove Mesto, the Czech Republic, on December 15-18, 2016. Serhiy Semenov finished in seventh place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint (24:06.8 seconds).
• Vitaliy Trush won gold in the junior men’s 10-kilometer sprint (24:40.9 seconds) and Anton Dudchenko won gold in the junior men’s 15-kilometer individual race (39:54.5 seconds) at the Junior World Cup in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, on December 10-11, 2016. Kristina Dmytrenko won silver in the junior women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (21:17.4 seconds), and Valeria Dmytrenko and Liubov Kypiachenkova finished in ninth and 10th place, respectively (22:42.5 and 22:53.4 seconds).
• Iryna Varvynets, Yuliia Dzhima, Olena Pidhrushna and Anastasiya Merkushyna won bronze in the women’s 4×6-kilometer biathlon relay (1:12:08.8 seconds) at the IBU World Cup in Pokljuka, Slovenia, on December 9-11, 2016. Artem Pryma, Serhiy Semenov, Vitaliy Kilchytsky and Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in fourth place in the men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay (1:12:32.8 seconds).
• Anastasiya Merkusyna won gold in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint (21:11.8 seconds) at the IBU Cup in Ridnaun-Val Ridanna, Italy, on December 8-11, 2016. Vladimir Semakov finished in fourth place in both the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit (34:16.1 seconds) and in the 10-kilometer sprint (23:58.7 seconds). Ukraine won gold in the single mixed relay (38:52.4 seconds) with Merkushyna and Artem Tishchenko. In the mixed relay, Ukraine (Anna Kryvonos, Mariya Kruchova, Ruslan Tkalenko and Semakov) finished in ninth place (1:19:07.4 seconds).
• At the IBU World Cup in Oestersund, Sweden, on November 27 through December 3, 2016, Yuliia Dzhima finished in ninth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit race (33:05.0 seconds) and Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in ninth place (24:28.4 seconds) in the men’s 10-kilometer pursuit. Ukraine, represented by Iryna Varynets and Alexander Zhirnyy, finished in ninth place in the single mixed relay (38:10.40 seconds); in the mixed relay, Anastasiya Mekushyna, Yuliia Dzhima, Artem Pryma and Dmytro Pidruchniy finished in 10th place (1:13:19.3 seconds).
• Yana Bondar finished in fourth place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at IBU Cup in Beitostolen, Norway, on November 25-27, 2016. Bondar finished in 24:50.0 seconds and Mariya Kruchkova finished in 10th place (25:44.6 seconds). Yuliya Zhuravok finished in fifth place (25:00.1 seconds) in the 7.5-kilometer sprint.
• Iryna Varynets finished in seventh place in the women’s 4×6-kilometer relay (16:03.9 seconds); Dzhima finished in seventh place in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start (29.21.2 seconds); and Artem Pryma finished in ninth place in the men’s 4×7.5-kilometer relay (16.54.3 seconds).
Bobsled and skeleton
• Russia was stripped of hosting rights for the 2017 world championships in Sochi by the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, who deemed it not “prudent” to hold the event in Russia after all of the recent scandal with widespread doping violations. Russia said that it may seek compensation for being stripped of hosting rights. The new venue will be Koenigssee, Germany, on February 13-26. Latvia had informed the federation that it planned to boycott the event if it was held in Russia. The U.S. and South Korea also said they were considering withdrawing from the event in Russia.
Paralympics
• Ukraine won 19 gold, 16 silver and 21 bronze medals at the Paralympic Nordic Skiing World Cup in Turka, Yavoriv district of Lviv on January 23. The next stage of the tournament is set to take place on February 10-19 in Finsterau, Germany.
• Ukraine won 47 medals and finished in first place in the medal standings (19 gold, 16 silver and 12 bronze) at the World Para Nordic Skiing Championships in Finsterau, Germany, on February 10-19. Olga Prylutska and Oksana Shyskova won gold and silver (33:11.4 and 33:18.5 seconds), respectively, in the women’s middle, visually impaired final; Natalia Rubanovska finished in fourth place (39:15.6 seconds). In the men’s middle, visually impaired final, Iurii Utkin, Anatoliy Kovaevskyi and Dmytro Suiarko swept the podium spots (32:50.7, 33:07.4, 33.51.9 seconds). Other top-10 finishes in the same race were: Vitaliy Lukyanenko (fourth), Iaroslav Reshetynskiy, (seventh) Oleksandr Kazik (eighth) and Oleksandr Makhotkin (10th). In the women’s middle standing final, Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko won gold and silver, respectively (31:41.5, 33:05.7 seconds). In the top-10 were Iuliia Batenkova (fifth), Bohdana Konashuk (seventh), and Iryna Bui (ninth). In the men’s sprint, sitting final, Maksym Yarovyi and taras Rad won gold and silver, respectively (21:36.1, 21:48.9 seconds). In the women’s sprint, standing final, Liashenko, Kononova and Bui swept the podium spots, (18:25.0, 19:15.2, 19:24.1 seconds), and Bohdana Konashuk and Iuliia Batenkova finished in fourth and sixth place, respectively. In the men’s sprint, visually impaired final, Anatoliy Kovalevskyi won gold (19:55.9 seconds), and in the top-10 were Lukyanenko (fourth), Utkin (fifth), Reshetynskiy (sixth), Kazik (seventh) and Suiarko (10th). In the women’s sprint, visually impaired final, Oksana Syshkova won gold (20:15.7 seconds) and Olga Prylutska won bronze (21:42.3 seconds), and Natalia Rubanovska finished in fourth place (26:17.2 seconds). In the men’s standing sprint, Ihor Reptyukh won silver (18:32.6 seconds), Grygoriy Vovchynskyi finished in fourth place, followed by Serhii Romaniuk in eighth place and Vitalii Sytnyk in ninth place. Taras Rad won silver in the men’s middle sitting final (37:52.2 seconds). In the men’s middle standing final, Vovchynskyi won bronze (31:22.8 seconds), and in the top-10 were: Reptyukh (sixth), Sytnyk (seventh) and Romaniuk (ninth). In cross-country skiing, Oksana Shyskova won silver in the women’s sprint, visually impaired, and Olga Prylutska finished in fourth place. In the men’s sprint, visually impaired, Utkin won silver (2:54.35 seconds). Among the top-10 were: Oleksandr Kazik, (fourth), Siuark (eighth) and Reshetynskiy (ninth). In the women’s standing sprint, Ukraine swept the podium with Liashenko winning gold (3:21.05 seconds), Kononova (silver, 3:19.82 seconds) and Bui (bronze, 3:36.30 seconds). Bohdana Konashuk finished in eighth place in the women’s standing sprint. Oksana Masters (who was born in Ukraine, but competes for the U.S.A.) won gold in the women’s seated sprint (2:59.36 seconds) and gold in the women’s long C seated final (36:01.0 seconds). Reptyukh and Vovchynskyi won gold and bronze, respectively, in the men’s standing sprint (2:50.53, 2:54.84 seconds). Yarovyi won gold in the men’s seated sprint (2:37.77 seconds), and Rad finished in eighth place. Ukraine finished in fourth place in the open relay (25:16.2 seconds). Ukraine won gold in the mixed relay (26:56.5 seconds). Yarovyi won gold in the men’s long C sitting final (40:32.4 seconds). Reptyukh won gold in the men’s long C standing final (58:03.1 seconds). Vovchynskyi finished in fourth place (59:30.2 seconds) and Sytnyk finished in eighth place (1:02:02.6 seconds). In the men’s long C, visually impaired final, Utkin and Suiarko finished in sixth and seventh place (1:06:06.2, 1:06:57.3 seconds). In the women’s long C, standing final, Kononova won gold (51:56.9 seconds), Batenkova won silver (53:38.1 seconds) and Liashenko won bronze (53:59.4 seconds).
Skiing
• Tania Prymak, who skis for the U.S. ski-cross team, finished in fifth place (202.50 points) at the North American Cup on January 20 at Solitude Mountain Resort, in Solitude, Utah. Other top-10 finishes for the 2016-2017 season include seventh place and 10th place at the Ski-Cross World Cup in Innichen, Italy, on December 20-22, 2016; seventh place at the World Cup in Arosa, Switzerland, on December 12-13, 2016; and a bronze medal at the National Championships in Pitztal, Austria, on November 26, 2016. Prymak’s latest ranking is 23rd with 360 points, following the fifth freestyle skiing FIS points lists for 2016-2017. Prymak finished in 12th and 17th places at the World Cup in Idre Fjall, Sweden, on February 9-12.
Hockey
• The Manitoba Junior Hockey League team the Dauphin Kings adopted a Ukrainian vyshyvanka (embroidery) as its motif for its team uniforms for its annual Ukrainian Night on January 28. During the match against Virden Oil Capitals, the Dauphin Kings won 3-2 in overtime. More than 25 percent of the population of Dauphin speaks Ukrainian ,and 41 percent of the population claim Ukrainian heritage. The evening featured Ukrainian bands, games, as well as traditional Ukrainian menu items. The jerseys were the brainchild of a collaboration between the Kings and Ryan Raliuk of Ruff’s Furniture and Dave Campbell of Parkland Source for Sports. Fans were able to bid in a silent auction on jerseys with the players’ last names in Ukrainian.
Winter Games
• Ukraine finished in 10th place in the medal standings (two gold, three silver and four bronze) at the 2017 World Universiade in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on January 29 through February 8. Yana Bondar won silver in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint biathlon (22:05.9 seconds). In the same race, Yuliya Zhuravok, Nadia Bielkina and Yuliya Brygynets finished in fourth, sixth and ninth place, respectively. Nadiia Bielkina won bronze in the women’s 15-kilometer individual race (1:02:12.3 seconds), and Yuliya Zhuravok and Yana Bondar finished in sixth and eighth place, respectively. In the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit, Bielkina won gold (32:39.6 seconds); in the women’s 12.5-kilometer mass start, Bondar won silver (37:17.7 seconds); while Bielkina finished in sixth place, followed by Mariya Kruchova in ninth place and Yuiya Brygynets in 10th place. In the men’s 15-kilometer mass start, Artem Tyshchenko finished in eighth place, followed by Anton Myhda in ninth place. Ukraine won bronze in the mixed relay biathlon (1:17:10.4 seconds). In the men’s 20-kilometer individual race, Anton Myhda finished in seventh place (1:06:36.8 seconds). Alexandra Nazarova and Maxim Nikitin won gold in ice dance figure skating, having finished in first place in the short program (64.12 points) and first place in the free dance program (165.62 points). Tetiana Petrova finished in fourth place in the women’s moguls final (45.17 points) and Andrii Lebedyk finished in 10th place in the men’s moguls final (34.47 points). In women’s snowboard downhill parallel giant slalom, Annamarie Dancha won silver against Alexandra Krol of Poland in the final. Oleksandr Belinskyy won bronze in the men’s snowboard parallel giant slalom after winning against Michal Nowaczyk of Poland in the final. Belinskyy also won bronze in the men’s parallel slalom after winning against Vladislav Khuramshin of Russia. Viktor Pasichnyk finished in seventh place in the men’s Nordic combined individual Gundersen NH 10-kilomter cross-country race (25:12.1 seconds). Ukraine finished in fifth place (38:58.2 seconds) in the men’s team Gundersen NH 3×5-kilometer cross-country race. Anna Muzyka finished in fourth place in the women’s mass start speed skating final with eight points, having earned the second-fastest time on three out of the four laps.
Martial arts
• Stanislav Horun (75 kg) won first place in the Premier League Karate 1 that was held in Paris on January 22-24. The tournament, hosted by the World Karate Federation, attracted 1,243 competitors from 78 countries.
• Ukraine’s Mauy Thai fighters won four gold medals and earned four spots in the World Game 2017 that are to be hosted in Wroclaw, Poland, on July 20-30. Igor Liubchenko (63.5 kg) and Oleh Pryimachov (91 kg) have already qualified for two of the spots. Additional spots were won by Trishyn Konstiantyn (57 kg), Serhii Kuliba (67 kg) and Vasyl Sorokin (71 kg).
• Ukraine’s Andrii Koval, Dmytro Panasiuk and Roman Reva won silver in the men’s duel competition at the Wushu Taolu World Cup in Fuzhou, China, on November 15-20, 2016. Liudmyla Temna finished in fourth place in the women’s Jianshu; Andrii Fehetsyn finished in fifth place in the men’s Nandao and in eighth place in the men’s Nangun; Temna finished in seventh place in the women’s Qiangshu; Ganna Tereshchenko finished in fourth place in the women’s Daoshu and fourth place in the women’s Changquan.