Ukraine's Olympians prepare for Salt Lake City (09/09/01)

Ukraine's Olympians prepare for Salt Lake City

by Roman Woronowycz
Kyiv Press Bureau

KYIV - Five months before the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, preparations by Ukraine's athletes are on schedule. While that will not necessarily convert into a treasure trove of gold, silver and bronze medals, it does mean that the team is expected to do at least as well as in its past two Winter Olympics and could even sneak in a top 10 finish if the snow falls its way.

One reason for optimism is that the Ukrainian team, as it did in previous Olympic Games, has obtained a world-class site to train and make final preparations prior to the beginning of competition in February 2002.

Laryssa Barabash-Temple, the U.S. attaché for the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and its chief coordinator for preparations in Salt Lake City, said she had succeeded in getting the world-renowned Sun Valley Ski Resort, located in Idaho, to allow many of Ukraine's athletes to train there.

"We've got the top winter resort in the country sponsoring our athletes for training," said Ms. Barabash-Temple, who added that she had every reason to believe that the Ukrainian squad could improve on its 13th-place finish in Lillehammer, Norway, in 1994 and its 17th place finish in Nagano, Japan, in 1998.

Ms. Barabash-Temple's work in obtaining a training site in Carrolton, Ga., prior to the 1996 Summer Olympics, is generally acknowledged as one of the reasons the Ukrainian squad placed eighth in the overall medal count.

She said the deal with Sun Valley, in which the resort agreed to give Ukraine's winter athletes free lodging and access to all facilities - including weight rooms, swimming pools, saunas and, of course, the ski slopes and ice rinks - was unexpected and unforeseen, and developed quite by happenstance.

As Ms. Barabash-Temple explained it, she was in Sun Valley on personal business when she found out through a friend that the resort was interested in hosting a top Olympic team for training. She said that after she was introduced to the Idaho State Olympic Committee representative at Sun Valley it was a smooth downhill ride to an agreement.

Her main concern - the prohibitive cost of a resort such as Sun Valley - was immediately swept off the table, she explained, when the organizers told her she need worry only about getting the athletes to Sun Valley and paying for their food.

"We have been incredibly fortunate with the sponsorship of the State of Idaho and Sun Valley," said Ms. Barabash-Temple.

The NOC-Ukraine member explained that the Idaho representatives were particularly interested in the biathlon team, not only because it is considered among the very top squads in the world, but also because Sun Valley has extensive professional-level cross-country trails at altitudes comparable to those at Salt lake City.

The women's biathlon team has been at Sun Valley three times since the agreement was reached and will be there again before the Winter Games, which are scheduled for February 8-24. Whether the top-notch facilities will give Ukraine the extra advantage to move into the top 10 in medals will become known only on February 25.

The women's biathlon team is one of the teams on which Ukraine is heavily counting to contribute to the country's medals count. It has ranked at or near the top in recent polls, and its star, Olena Zubrylova, is considered the top female biathlete in the world. Two other members of the squad, Olena Petrova and Tatiana Vodopianova, are also consistently ranked in the top 10, making the team the consensus favorite for gold at Salt Lake City.

The Ukrainian figure skating squad also is utilizing the Sun Valley facilities and recently finished a two-month summer stay. Although the team is considered strong overall, few believe it contains a potential medalist. Yet there is hope, especially in the person of Olena Liashenko, a veteran of the squad who has placed high in European competition.

While in the United States Ms. Liashenko trained with a new choreographer, which seems to have helped her creative program.

"I believe it has made a difference because it exposed her to a different style," explained Ms. Barabash-Temple.

She said the entire figure skating squad also received much-needed experience by being exposed to very critical crowds during weekly shows they put on for visitors, which has boosted their confidence.

The team is hoping that Ms. Liashenko cracks the top three and expects that after the finals several of its skaters will be scattered among top 10 finishers. The team also expects good showings in pairs skating and in grand prix pairs skating.

Not all the teams that are part of the Ukrainian squad will train at Sun Valley because the resort does not have the facilities required by many of the sports.

Another highly rated Ukrainian squad, the aerial freestylers, will prepare for Salt Lake City just outside Calgary in Alberta, Canada beginning in November. Three team members are rated in the top 10 in the world, with Tatiana Kozachenko, who is currently ranked third, given a shot at a medal.

While the biathletes, figure skaters and freestylers are expected to medal, other Ukrainian squads are hopeful - among them the women's cross-country relay team as well as the short track skaters and the speed skaters.

And then there is hockey, in which no one expects the Ukrainian team to take home a gold from Salt Lake City. However, the fact the team has qualified for Olympic competition - its the first time ever - is in itself a prestigious achievement that gives Ukrainian hockey enthusiasts even more to look forward to this winter.

The team, which qualified in the second eight of the 16-team field by placing 10th in last years world championships, will have to play another qualifying round during the Winter Games to get to the final round robin tournament. Nonetheless, they will be in Salt Lake City.

The team is expected to include three or four of the 11 or so Ukrainians currently playing in the NHL. Others will be excluded for various reasons including contract arrangements.

Developing a top Olympic team takes money, which has been one of Ukraine's biggest problems. This year, however, the problems have diminished to some degree.

Ms. Barabash-Temple explained that she has taken care of much of what is need through sponsorships and the personal contacts she has made since becaming the U.S. representative for the NOC-Ukraine.

She says that to some extent the individual federations are in better shape as well, having understood that they must find local sponsors to ensure year-around training, equipment and preparatory competitions for their athletes.

"The federations with good presidents are the ones that are doing well," explained Ms. Barabash-Temple.

She said that, unlike for Atlanta, she would not turn to the Ukrainian American diaspora to give financial support for equipment and preparations. She explained that she was less confident than in 1996 that she could control how the money was used.

However, she said she is upbeat about the new direction her fund-raising efforts have taken because sponsors are footing the bills.

"Basically I used to get a lot of money, now I get a lot of things free. But it is still money in the end," explained Ms. Barabash-Temple.

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