ANALYSIS: Team Ukraine at the Sydney Olympic Games (10/29/00)

ANALYSIS: Team Ukraine at the Sydney Olympic Games

by Peter Shmigel
Special to The Ukrainian Weekly

SYDNEY - At the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, together with other students from the international Ukrainian diaspora, I took part in a somewhat comical protest against a Soviet Olympic team that never showed up. We had the banners made up, so why not use them. Beyond the farce, our real hope was the same as that of Ukrainians worldwide: that we could one day come to an Olympics where a team from Ukraine was competing.

In 1996 at Atlanta the aspirations of many were more than fulfilled when Ukraine not only showed up, but won nine gold medals in its first official Olympic outing. That performance set some fairly high expectations for the future - perhaps not unrealistic ones, given the very significant contribution of Ukraine's athletes to the Olympic medal tally of the Soviet Union over many years of its occupation of Ukraine.

And, then, Sydney happened. Or, as the case is better put, didn't quite happen. Beyond Yana Klochkova in the pool, Ukraine's moments of sporting glory were generally limited. Ukraine won only three gold medals, finished 21st on the official overall tally list (based on the number of gold medals won), and choked in traditionally strong sports such as track and field. And, its key contenders for placings simply did not deliver.

Now Prime Minister Viktor Yuschenko is publicly questioning the performance and looking for some explanations. He might well do so.

At this Olympics, I was thrilled with the opportunity to participate rather than protest and signed up as a volunteer assistant of the National Olympic Committee with the Sydney Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games (SOCOG). Following 12 months of training, SOCOG assigned seven Australians of Ukrainian background, including myself, to work with the Ukrainian delegation in the Olympic Village. At the same time, The Ukrainian Weekly asked me to follow Ukraine's on-field efforts.

I enjoyed my time at the Games immensely, especially helping athletes, and hope our whole volunteer crew (which also consisted of "normal" Aussie drivers) was useful to them in terms of translations and odd jobs. Certainly good friendships were formed. Perhaps it's in the perceived interest of those young athletes that I choose to make a few criticisms of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine (NOCU).

Perhaps, I don't carry the biggest set of qualifications, but anybody with their eyes open at such a close distance would have noticed some characteristics peculiar to Ukraine's Olympic experience in Sydney. Perhaps, I bring a set of cultural biases to the subject matter, but, frankly, international sport is guided by values and assumptions other than those prevalent in Ukraine. So, here we go.

There was simply no strategy or plan for Team Ukraine. On an overall basis, or day to day, and despite the pleading of the Australian Friends of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, the management of the delegation was ad hoc and disorganized.

Does this matter in terms of sports performance? Yes, if the price of disorganization is missed training sessions, undue distractions, and a lack of logistical and moral support for athletes.

A strategic approach is also particularly important if the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine wishes to attract more corporate sponsorship. And, when countries such as Australia invest an average of $25 million per gold medal won, funding is critical for international competitiveness. At the moment, corporate investors could do better entrusting their funds to their local casinos.

There was little effort to motivate or positively reinforce the athletes. Athletes seemed to have second-class citizen status in the context of the overall delegation. Those in first class were the senior members of the administrative committee and their various cronies - many of whom trace their generally bureaucratic careers well back into the Soviet era. Athletes' concerns were summarily dismissed and their victories perfunctorily marked with a certificate and a handshake.

The incidents were numerous, but I recall several athletes who couldn't get help to phone home or go see Sydney's sights after winning a medal.

The discipline and morale levels of some teams within the delegation were low. Aside from their training sessions, many athletes drifted around aimlessly with no information and no structure from their administrators and/or trainers. Track and field particularly stood out. The opposite was true for teams such as the boxers, and their unprecedented performance tells a story. The demeanor of other national delegations - upbeat, positive and committed - served as a stark contrast.

This may partially be a reflection of coaching standards. Many top coaches and trainers have apparently left Ukraine in recent years for greater compensation in other countries. More than a few were to be found in the Olympic Village (among delegations including those of Egypt, Canada, the United States, Australia and others). Beyond the money, one wonders what was done to retain their allegiance.

The primary concern of the delegation's leadership was pecuniary. Countless hours were spent by some members of the administrative committee organizing cars to head for beaches, dinners and shopping excursions. Of the dozen or so official members of the administrative committee, the majority never bothered turning up for work on any given day. Little or no initiative was shown by individual administrators - the "boss" needed to okay anything before it was done. The few genuinely committed members of the administrative committee - who tended to be younger, educated and female - were treated poorly.

The other major effort on the part of the administrative committee was to wine and dine the handful of Ukrainian national deputies who came to the Games in generally unofficial capacities. (Some of them apparently did not like the five-star accommodations they were given.)

All of it spoke loudly of attitudes and behaviors not greatly changed since 1991. In the meantime, athletes had little idea about to whom they should turn to take care of basic concerns, and many came to rely on the limited resources of the local Ukrainian community.

The hangers-on were numerous. To attract the Olympics, Sydney made the unprecedented decision to fund delegations' travel to and accommodations in Sydney. Ukraine certainly utilized this generosity. There were countless "extra official" personnel associated with the delegation. As far as anyone could tell, they had absolutely no role to fulfill, spending their days sightseeing, wandering the Olympic Village and seeking free medical treatment. Others had fairly curious "business interests" to pursue. Does this have an impact on sports performance? Yes, if the time and resources of the National Olympic Committee are directed at keeping these cronies happy rather than looking after athletes.

Opportunities were squandered. In fairness, though they cannot be expected to be masters at this point of Ukraine's nation-building, Ukraine's officials do not seem to have understood the basics when it comes to leveraging elite sport with international diplomacy and corporate support. Whether we like to admit it or not, elite sport is undeniably about political and financial opportunity. This can either be altruistically managed for the good of a sports program or nation, or it can be inappropriately exploited or neglected.

One example is the failure of the delegation to organize a genuine media opportunity for Yana Klochkova, overwhelmingly the star of Ukraine's show, with the international - not just Ukrainian - media. Though she produced one of the best performances of any athlete in Sydney, Ms. Klochkova went home an "unknown" compared to other swimmers.

All of the above paints a pretty harsh picture. I genuinely hope that it does not detract from the amazing efforts of the young Ukrainians who won a total of 23 medals.

Indeed, that's my key point here. Ukraine's medals were won by those young people - in spite of the poor context fostered by their inept sports bosses (as well as their nation's economy). The negative culture of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine is not suited to cultivating success on the part of Ukraine's young athletes. Nor is it suited to attracting the dollars that are a key part of contemporary sports.

What could Ukraine's athletes accomplish if they trained and competed in an improved situation? It's up to Ukraine's government to create that situation and find out. All eyes on Kyiv. And then - Athens.

An Australian resident since 1990, former New Yorker Peter Shmigel is a business and environmental strategy consultant to some of Australia's largest corporations.

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