Champions. Ukraine had many of them in 2019, as the sports world continued to witness Ukrainians achieve outstanding athletic performances. Lady Ukrainian tennis stars volleyed to victory, Ukrainian boxers punched their way to knockout wins, Ukrainian judokas threw down opponents into triumphant pins, and Zhan Beleniuk was selected as No. 1 in the world of Greco-Roman wrestling.
The surprises of the past year were team efforts: Team Ukraine winning soccer’s U-20 World Cup, the Ukrainian national team winning Group B to qualify for Euro 2020 and Team Ukraine’s phenomenal third-place showing at the 2019 European Games.
Individually and collectively, it was yet another banner year for Ukrainians in sports.