Sports

Oksana Masters: Ukrainian American Paralympian

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PyeongChang is 28-year-old Oksana Masters’ fourth Paralympics. She first got involved in competitive sports at age 11 and is today considered one of Team U.S.A.’s more promising Paralympic athletes. Born in Ukraine, she was raised in Buffalo, N.Y., and Louisville, Ky., after being adopted at age 8. Her Paralympics multiple sports resume includes a bronze medal for rowing in London in 2012, silver and bronze medals for cross-country skiing in Sochi in 2014 and a fourth place finish in cycling at the 2016 Games in Rio. Masters has also medaled in Nordic skiing at several international competitions.

Sports

Svitolina routs Kasatkina to retain Dubai title

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Her ultimate motivation came from the announcement of the finalists’ names prior to the actual finals match. In a post-match press conference after her back-to-back win of the 2018 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title (the tournament was held on February 19-24), Elina Svitolina explained: “When they announced our names, they were saying that Justine [Henin] and Venus [Williams] are the only ones who defended their titles, I was like, ‘Okay, c’mon, you have to do this.’ It really motivated me.”

The WTA’s fourth-ranked player and tournament top seed went on to demolish Russia’s unseated Daria Kasatkina 6-4, 6-0 in a short and sweet final match. Svitolina showed her strength with an on-the-run, backhand cross-court shot in the fourth game and a forehand down the line in the seventh. “It’s amazing to win here again,” the 23-year-old said. “Even being the defending champion is amazing.

Sports

2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang

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A recap of Team Ukraine’s performance

Amid rampant government corruption, a foundering economy bereft of badly needed foreign assistance and investment, and an ongoing, costly war with Russia and insurgent rebels, Ukraine nevertheless sent 33 athletes to compete in the 2018 Winter Olympics. It bears repeating: to be competitive on the world’s ultimate sports stage, major financial resources are required to recruit, train and develop Olympic athletes. Costs include scouting, housing, equipment, food, coaching, practice venues, travel and medical care, to name just a few. Varying reports have stated the Ukrainian government allocated between $4.5 million and $9.6 million to train athletes for this year’s Olympics. The biathletes and freestyle skier Oleksandr Abramenko formed the elite group of athletes, received 50 percent of the training budget.

Sports

Abramenko wins gold medal in aerials

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Oleksandr Abramenko made history on February 18, becoming the first man to win an individual Winter Olympic medal for Ukraine in a very tight aerials final competition. Both Abramenko and China’s Jia Zongyang attempted the same jump in the last round, a back full, double full. Both executed the jump perfectly and both believed they had won. The 29-year-old Ukrainian celebrated prematurely, turning a Ukrainian flag into a cape and racing around when his final score of 128.51 was posted. His score remained tops after Canada’s Olivier Rochon and Belarus’s Stanislau Hladchenko both washed out in their last attempts, leaving only Jia.

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2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang

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Olympic profile: Anastasiya Merkushyna

It is safe to say one’s family has a strong influence in life, helping determine one’s opinions, interests, hobbies, educational pursuits and career choices. For Anastasiya Merkushyna, it was a simple decision to follow in her parents’ footsteps and pursue biathlon, continuing the family tradition. Her mother, Iryna, was a professional biathlete and her father, Oleh, a biathlon coach. Sometimes children of talented athlete parents tend not to match their elders’ achievements. But by age 21, Merkushyna had already topped her mother in medals and awards.

Sports

Marta Kostyuk: Thrilling tennis phenom

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Marta Kostyuk first picked up a tennis racquet at age 5 although her initial childhood years saw Kostyuk pursuing acrobatics as a first love. She won fourth place in the Ukrainian national championships as a child. Wanting to spend more time with her mother, Kostyuk gave up acrobatics to focus on tennis at age 11. Talina Beyko, a former pro tennis player and now a coach, began mentoring her daughter and Marta developed a passion for the sport. It was not uncommon for her to have training days when she spent 12 hours on the court.

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Ukraine at the 2018 Winter Olympics

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Quality over quantity and less is more could very well be the catch phrases describing the approach Ukraine’s National Olympic Committee has taken with regard to its participation in the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics on February 9-25 in South Korea. Perhaps this is a direct result of the nation’s economic woes that are undoubtedly impacted by the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine. Financial resources for recruiting, training and developing Olympic-caliber athletes must be at a precious premium. In 2010 Ukraine sent 52 athletes to compete in nine sports at the Vancouver Winter Games, winning zero medals. Four years later in Sochi, 45 competitors in nine sports won two medals: gold in women’s biathlon relay and bronze in women’s sprint biathlon.

Sports

Svitolina captures Brisbane title

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Elina Svitolina has made it very clear she intends to be the woman to beat in 2018 after her resounding dismantling of surprise qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus to win the Brisbane International tournament on January 6. The lopsided triumph with a 6-2, 6-1 score got the young Ukrainian tennis star her 10th career title – five of which came last year – at Pat Rafter Arena. Her upset of defending champion Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in the semifinal was enough to catapult her back up to a No. 4 ranking in the world heading into the seeding for the Australian Open. Landing the silverware in Brisbane served to boost her confidence on the way to Melbourne with her eyes fixed firmly on her maiden grand slam trophy.

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Lomachenko TKO’s Rigondeaux in six rounds

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SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn. – Several ESPN boxing experts have proclaimed Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko the sport’s premier pound-for-pound fighter. Promoter Bob Arum has referred to his client as the most skilled boxer he has ever seen, including the legendary Muhammad Ali. After Lomachenko’s latest victim, Guillermo Rigondeaux, refused to leave his corner to start the seventh round of their feature bout at Madison Square Garden on December 9, the above ESPN pundits nicknamed the Ukrainian “Nomaschenko,” incorporating the Spanish phrase “no mas,” as in no more. Rigondeaux wanted “no more” of Lomachenko after the first six rounds, clearly showing his advanced age and long stretch of inactivity.

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Ukrainian Pro hockey Update: Turk Broda

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Turk Broda was named one of The NHL’s 100, the top-100 players in the history of the National Hockey League’s 100 years of existence. This is the last in a series featuring the six Ukrainian hockey stars selected to this elite group. During the Toronto Maple Leafs’ most glorious decade, the 1940s, Ukrainian goalie Turk Broda was the biggest story on the team. He was the biggest story in more ways than one. May 6, 1936, saw legendary Leafs owner/GM Conn Smythe pay the Detroit Red Wings $7,500 for the rights to Broda.