BOXING
Usyk expects fight against Joshua
Alexander Krassyuk, general director of K2 Promotions, announced that he expects heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KO) will fight against heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (24-1, 22 KO) of Great Britain. The title unification fight for the WBO, WBA, IBF and IBO heavyweight titles could happen in April or May 2021. This is based on mandatory title defenses that Joshua must fulfill. K2 Promotions also was skeptical about a projected fight between Joshua and heavyweight WBC title holder Tyson Fury of Great Britain. All of this news comes following Joshua’s ninth-round knockout win against Kubrat Pulev (28-2, 14 KO) of Bulgaria on December 12.
Berinchyk defends WBO title
WBO international lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk (14-0, 8 KO) defeated Romanian Viorel Simion (22-4, 9 KO) and defended his WBO title at the Equides Club near Kyiv on October 8. Berinchyk stopped Simion after seven rounds when his opponent refused to continue the fight. Prior to that, the Romanian boxer was knocked down twice in previous rounds. Berinchyk defended his WBO international lightweight title for the fourth time, and the fight was scheduled for 10 rounds.
Youth team wins 15 medals
Ukraine’s youth boxing team won second place at the EUBC Youth European Boxing Championships in Budva, Montenegro, on November 22. Out of 20 boxers, Ukraine won 15 medals – three gold (Yurii Zakharieiev, 69 kg; Illia Tohobytskyi, 75 kg; Mykyta Gorbatenko, 91 kg), five silver (Roman Litvinov, 52 kg; Vasyl Tkachuk, +91 kg; Maryna Stoiko, 64 kg; Anna Sezko, 69 kg; Yana Taranenko, 81 kg) and seven bronze medals (Danylo Dryzhak, 49 kg; Hennadii Maslennikov, 60 kg; Bozorboi Matyakubov, 64 kg; Denys Salabai, 81 kg; Kateryna Bodnarchuk, 54 kg; Raisa Piskun, 75 kg; Viktoriia Levchuk, +81 kg).
SOCCER
Ukraine clubs in Europa League
Dynamo Kyiv has drawn Club Brugge (Belgium) and Shakhtar has drawn Maccabi Tel-Aviv (Israel) in the Round of 32 of the UEFA Europa League. The draw took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland, on December 14. The two-leg matches (home and away) are scheduled for February 18 and 25. Zorya Luhansk lost 0-2 against Braga (Portugal) on December 10 in its final match of the Group G stage to exit the Europa League. Zorya finished in third place after six matches played with six points.
JUDO
Kalanina wins bronze in Prague
Elyzaveta Kalanina (+78 kg) won bronze at the European Judo Championships on November 19-21 in Prague, Hungary. Kalanina won the third-place match against Jasmin Grabowski of Germany, and won the semifinal against Iryna Kindzerska of Azerbaijan. Ukraine, represented by 13 athletes (nine men and four women), was among the 40 countries that participated. A total of 345 athletes competed.
Manukian wins bronze in Croatia
Hievorh Manukian (81 kg) won bronze at the U-23 European Championships in Porec, Croatia, on November 9-10. In the third-place match, Manukian defeated Robert Rajkai of Hungary. The tournament attracted 328 athletes from 36 countries. Ukraine was represented by 12 athletes (eight men and four women).
Bronze for Bilodid in Budapest
Daria Bilodid (52 kg) won bronze at the Grand Slam Hungary in Budapest on October 23-25. Bilodid tied with Andrea Chitu of Romania. Bilodid won the third-place match against Evelyne Tschopp of Switzerland.
STRONGMAN
Novikov wins strongest man title
Oleksii Novikov has won the 2020 World’s Strongest Man competition on November 15 in Bradenton, Fla. The Ukrainian became the world’s youngest athlete to win the competition and he also became the second Ukrainian, after Vasyl Virastyuk, to win the title. Virastyuk held the title in 2004 and 2007. Novikov broke the partial deadlift world record with 537.5 kg in just his second outing in the annual competition. Novikov broke the world record in the partial deadlift while lifting a 1,185-pound bar about 18 inches off the ground. “It’s unbelievable,” Novikov said through a translator, via USA Today. “You must feel this, and you understand then. I can’t explain this emotion.” The 24-year-old is the youngest person to win the event since 1984. Novikov stands at 6-foot-1 and weighs nearly 300 pounds. The finals of the event consisted of six events: the giant medley, partial deadlift, keg toss, Hercules hold, log lift ladder and atlas stones. Novikov reached the finals after cruising through the group stage with the longest farmer’s carry – he made it more than 57 meters – and with eight reps on the dumbbell clean and press medley. The contest was initially scheduled for May, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is scheduled to be televised on December 26 on CBS.
CYCLING
Starikova wins gold in Plovdiv
Olena Starikova, 24, won gold in the Keirin race at the UEC Track Elite European Championships in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. In the final, Starikova broke from the pack, taking the lead, finishing two laps ahead of the competition. In individual race, Starikova won bronze in the sprint and in the team competition. Ukraine won a total of six medals – gold (Starikova, Keirin), silver (Roman Hladysh, skratch), bronze (Starikova, sprint; Starikova, Liubov Basova, Oleksandra Lohviniuk, team sprint; Anna Nahrina, Tetiana Klimchenko, Viktoria Bodnar, Yuliya Biriukova, team race; and Klimchenko, skratch).
SWIMMING
Romanchuk sets new European record
Mykhailo Romanchuk set a new European record in the men’s 800-meter freestyle (7:25.73 seconds) at the International Swimming League in Budapest, Hungary, on November 20-22. Romanchuk’s record bested the previous record, set by 2012 Olympic champion Yannick Agnel of France, by four seconds (7:29.17 seconds). Romanchuk represented the Aqua Centurions club and his record is the second-best of all time, behind Grant Hackett of Australia in 2008 at 7:23.42 seconds.
ROCK CLIMBING
Boldyrev wins gold in Moscow
Daniil Boldyrev won gold at the European Rock Climbing Championships in Moscow on November 21. Boldyrev won the speed competition with a time of 5.69 seconds, besting his nearest competitor by .05 of a second. Boldyrev previously won three silver medals and one bronze medal at the European Championships 2013-2019. This was his first gold medal at the competition.
GYMNASTICS
Artistic gymnasts win first place overall
Ukraine’s men’s artistic gymnastics team won first place overall and 15 medals at the 2020 European Men’s Artistic Gymnastics Championships on December 9-13 in Mersin, Turkey. Ukraine won seven gold, six silver and two bronze medals, to tie for first place (with Turkey) in the senior division with four medals (two gold, one silver and one bronze medal), and 11 medals in the junior division (five gold, five silver and one bronze). Gold medals were won by the following individuals: Vladyslav Hryko, Petro Pakhniuk, Igor Radivilov, Roman Vashchenko and Yevgen Yudenkov (team competition in floor, Pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar; 248.963 points), Radivilov (vault, 14.733 points), Volodymyr Kostiuk, Illia Kovtun, Mykyta Melnykov, Ivan Sevruk and Radomyr Stelmakh (junior team competition, 239.128 points), and Kovtun (four individual medals: junior all-around, 81.465 points; Pommel horse, 14.233 points; rings, 13.266 points; parallel bars, 14.600 points). Silver medals were won by Pakhniuk (parallel bars, 14.766 points), Kostiuk (junior all-around, 80.198 points; rings, 13.166 points; vault, 14.033 points), Sevruk (floor, 13.466 points) and Melnykov (parallel bars, 13.666 points). Bronze medalists included Radivilov (rings, 14.766 points) and Kostiuk (horizontal bar, 12.900 points).
Rhythmic gymnasts win six medals in Kyiv
Ukraine won six medals (three gold, two silver and one bronze medal) at the 36th European Championships in Rhythmic Gymnastics in Kyiv on November 26. The tournament attracted 115 athletes from 23 countries and was the first time in 16 years that Ukraine hosted the event. In the team competition, Ukraine won gold in the senior five balls event (Diana Baieva, Mariola Bodnarchuk, Anastasiia Vozniak, Maria Vysochanska and Valeria Yuzviak); gold in the combined senior team all-around (Polina Karika, Polina Sydorak, Melania Tur, Baieva, Bodnrachuk, Vozniak, Vysochanska and Yuzviak) with events in rope, ball, clubs, ribbon, five balls, and three hoops and two clubs; and Ukraine’s senior team won silver in the three hoops and two balls event. Individually, Karika won gold in the junior ball final, Sydorak won silver in the junior ribbon event; and in the senior group all-around competition (five balls, and three hoops and two clubs), Ukraine (represented by Baieva, Bodnachuk, Vozniak, Vysochanska and Yuzviak) won bronze.
HOCKEY
Boychuk retires
Johnny Boychuk abruptly ended his NHL career on November 25 this year due to lingering effects from two eye injuries. Poor peripheral vision and optic nerve damage from two incidents led to a determination that it would be unsafe for the Ukrainian to continue playing. His first injury occurred when he took a shot to his temple early in his career. In March 2020 he caught a skate blade to his face, which needed 90 stitches to repair, and his eyelid was cut by Montreal’s Artturi Lehkonen. The 36-year-old Edmonton, Alberta, native played the last six seasons with the New York Islanders, scoring 35 goals and 96 assists for 131 points in 404 games. Drafted by Colorado in 2002 (second round, 61st pick), he paid his dues with a five-year run in the American Hockey League, with stops in Lowell, Albany, Lake Erie and Providence. He led all AHL defensemen in goals (20), assists (45) and points (65), winning the Eddie Shore Award as the league’s top defenseman and earning First Team All-Star status. Colorado traded him to Boston in June 2008 and he spent five full seasons as a Bruin, winning the Stanley Cup in 2010-2011. In October 2014, he was traded to the Islanders. He played in 725 total NHL games, scoring 54 goals and 152 assists for 206 points. In 104 Stanley Cup playoff games he added 13G-17A-30PTS.
Hawryluk signs with Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks announced the signing of free agent Jayce Hawryluk on October 19. The young Ukrainian center was signed to a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000. The 24-year-old split the 2019-2020 season between the Florida Panthers, the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds and the NHL’s Ottawa Senators. The Yorkton, Saskatchewan, native has dressed in 68 NHL games, totaling 22 points (10 goals) and 32 penalty minutes. Prior to turning pro, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound center played four seasons with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the WHL. In 2015-2016 he earned WHL East Second Team All-Star, led the WHL playoffs in assists (23) and won a WHL championship. Hawryluk was originally drafted by Florida in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, going in the second round, 32nd overall.
Credit to Ihor Stelmach on the SportsShorts entries in hockey.