Ukraine hopes to match its 1996 performance at this year's Olympics (05/28/00)

Ukraine hopes to match its 1996 performance at this year's Olympics

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - With about four months to go to the beginning of the Sydney Olympic Games, Ukraine looks poised to match its 1996 overall performance in Atlanta, where the Ukrainian team took 23 medals, nine of them gold, and achieved a very respectable ninth place in the medal standings.

Some of the stars of 1996, the likes of multi-medal winner in gymnastics Liliya Podkopayeva and boxer Volodymyr Klychko, have retired or moved on to the professional ranks, but others, such as Olympic mainstay Serhii Bubka, as well as Atlanta high jump gold-medalist Inessa Kravets and long jump bronze-medalist Inga Babakova, should be back. Ukraine also has been successful in replenishing its team with new faces, notably gymnast Viktoria Karpenko and swimmer Yana Klochkova, who are expected to take several medals in individual events.

The various athletes and teams that will compete for Ukraine continue to have the same general problems in preparing for these Games as they did in Atlanta, and, once again, it all boils down to money. Much of the equipment that was financed or donated by the Ukrainian diaspora and Western companies prior to the 1996 Olympics is already outdated or worn. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOC-Ukraine) still lacks sufficient funds to take care of the athletes' final preparations and acclimatization necessities. But those close to the NOC believe that adequate preparations have been made in Kyiv and by the Ukrainian organizing committee in Sydney to assure that Ukraine fields a competitive team.

"Today, the prognoses are that what the Ukrainian team achieves in Sydney should come very close to what they achieved in Atlanta," said Laryssa Barabash-Temple, who guided the NOC-Ukraine for the 1996 Olympics organizing efforts from the United States. Ms. Temple remains a member of the NOC-Ukraine and is directing preparations for the Salt Lake City Winter Games scheduled for 2002.

According to an analysis obtained from the NOC-Ukraine, the Ukrainian Olympic contingent is expected to number 242 athletes who will compete in 26 events - which would again make it one of the largest Olympic teams.

Ms. Barabash-Temple said the Ukrainians will face even stiffer competition at these Games, which experts are predicting will result in more countries making it into the medal standings.

As in 1996, in Atlanta the team should be strong in weightlifting, gymnastics, track and field, yachting, rhythmic gymnastics, cycling and archery.

Although there are no sure bets in the Olympics, where any number of unexpected factors can ruin years of preparations, the Ukrainian team has high hopes for several athletes.

First there is the women's yachting team of Ruslana Taran and Olena Pakholchyk - currently ranked No. 1 in the world. They have competed extensively in Australia and are familiar with the waters in which the competitions will be held. They are ranked very highly in their individual categories, and are definitely medal favorites.

Then there is weightlifter Denis Gotfrid, who took a bronze in 1996 in the 99 kilogram category. He is the star of the team and should ensure that Ukrainians don't miss Atlanta gold medalist and world record setter Taimur Taimazov, who has retired. NOC officials said that Mr. Gotfrid has improved dramatically since Atlanta and has the ability to compete for a top spot in Sydney.

Ukraine again should be strong also in track and field and gymnastics, two of the glamour sports of the Olympics. Although its track and field team has been revamped extensively, several stars of the 1996 Games will return to add stability to the young team.

The team's backbone remains Mr. Bubka, the aging (for an athlete) but still dangerous pole vaulter, who suffered a major disappointment in Atlanta when he was forced to withdraw from competition with a torn Achilles heel. Mr. Bubka, who is nearing 40, still has not won a gold medal at the Olympic Games. However, he returned from his 1996 injury to win the 1998 World Championship and retains hope that he can achieve the one thing he has not in athletics: Olympic gold.

There is also Oleksander Bahach, shot putter extraordinaire and 1996 bronze medalist, who is looking to do even better in Sydney, where he is a gold medal favorite.

Ms. Babakova also will be back, better than ever and eyeing Olympic gold. The Atlanta bronze medalist in the long jump has only improved in the last four years. In 1999 she gave birth to a baby, and then weeks later at the world championships showed up the last day and won the gold medal.

Ms. Kravets also should help the team if she can qualify. After initially signaling that she would not compete in Sydney, she has decided to go for it. She stands an outside chance of repeating her gold medal performance in the high jump, but must first qualify at an international event, which she is expected to do.

The Ukrainian squad is also counting on Zhanna Pintusevych, the short-distance speed specialist, who finished eighth in Atlanta in the 100-meter dash. Although she has been inconsistent in international competitions recently, NOC-Ukraine predictions place her as a possible bronze medalist in the 200 meter.

In gymnastics, Ukraine will have a difficult if not impossible time replacing Podkopayeva, who overcame much adversity and the much-vaunted U.S. gymnastic squad to take three medals in Atlanta. The team is putting much hope on Ms. Karpenko, a 19-year-old with extensive international experience, to fill the void left by the departure of Podkopayeva.

Ms. Karpenko has been injury-prone and has not really delivered what was expected from her in international competitions. But she is healthy now and, if she gets sufficient time on Olympic-grade equipment and peaks at the right moment, NOC-Ukraine officials predict that she could win three medals in Sydney: a gold, silver and a bronze.

The team also has Olha Rozhshchupkina, who, at 15, is about the right age for a modern-day gymnast. Hopes are that she will take a bronze on the beam. She is considered an up-and-coming gymnast, but does not have the international ranking that Ms. Karpenko does.

In the other sport of tumbling and balance, rhythmic gymnastics, Ukraine has consistently fielded strong teams and should do so again this year, but much depends on its star, Elena Vitrychenko. Vitrychenko did poorly in the last world championships and has yet to decide whether she will retire or go for gold in Sydney. In Atlanta she took third place behind gold medalist Kateryna Serebrianska, who retired in 1997 after ending up on the wrong end of a feud between her club and Vitrychenko's.

Wrestling also faces an uphill fight after doing very well in Atlanta. The team must make do without its coach, Borys Savlokha, who was jailed this year after a conviction on racketeering charges. They also will be without gold medalist Viacheslav Oliynyk, who has retired. But they have two returning stars, Ruslam Adzhi and Heorhii Soldadze, which should give the team continuity and stability. Even with the setbacks, the NOC-Ukraine still is expecting at least two medals from the wrestlers.

Swimming may be an area where Ukraine will pick up the slack should the wrestlers find it difficult to overcome their problems. The team is led by Ms. Klochkova, who is ranked near the top in several events and has shown consistency in her performances. Today she is one of the favorites in several categories. The team can also rely on Denis Sylantiev and Ihor Snitko, who competed in Atlanta. The NOC-Ukraine has pegged the group for a total of three medals.

To a large degree what Ukraine finally accomplishes in Sydney will depend on how well they complete their preparation in the final weeks before the Games. Proper facilities and equipment and a good acclimatization program make as much difference between a medal and a fourth-place finish as do talent and training.

Most of the various Ukrainian squads will spend the weeks leading up to the opening celebrations training near the cities of Melbourne and Albury-Sodonga, which are located quite a bit further from the main Olympic venues than were the 1996 team's training sites in Atlanta. Melbourne is about 850 miles from Sydney, while Albury-Wodonga is only slightly closer, just under 600 miles away. The distance and possible associated transportation problems are a primary concern in the NOC-Ukraine's preparations.

The athletes, team officials and their guests will be made to feel quite at home while competing in Sydney, according to Ms. Barabash-Temple. She said that, just as their Atlanta counterparts did, the Australian Friends of the NOC-Ukraine organizing committee will have a "Ukrainian Home" available to the athletes, the official Olympic delegation and VIP dignitaries, which will function during the entire period of the Games to provide entertainment and hospitality around the clock.

The NOC-Ukraine and the athletes who have already been to the land down under all say that the Ukrainian Australian organizing committee is getting the job done, Ms. Barabash-Temple added.

"I have been able to talk to representatives of teams that recently have returned from Australia, who were there for qualifying events, and the athletes in particular were extremely pleased with the quality of care they received from the Ukrainian community there," said Ms. Barabash-Temple. "And that, essentially, is the reason we do this; to make sure that our athletes do feel special and get special care."

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