June 10, 2016

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Soccer

• In the UEFA Women’s Euro, Ukraine opened the scoring against Greece on June 7 in the second minute of play by team captain Daryna Apanashchenko with a penalty kick. Olha Boychenko netted another goal in the 44th minute for Ukraine. Ukraine is in second place (13 points) in Group 3, with France in the lead with 21 points, Romania (10 points) and Albania (zero points). Greece is in fourth place with six points. Ukraine’s next match is against Romania on September 15. Ukraine’s women’s team is ranked in 23rd place by FIFA with 1,760 points (14th place among UEFA member states).

Boxing

• Welterweight Denys Lazarev (5-0-0, 2 KO) won by unanimous decision after eight rounds against Bahrom Payozov (23-6-0, 15 KO) of Uzbekistan on June 2 in Moscow. All three judges scored 80-72 in favor of Lazarev. Cruiserweight Ismayl Sillakh (23-3-0, 18 KO) lost by third-round TKO against Maxim Vlasov (35-2-0, 18 KO).

Wrestling

• Three Ukrainian freestyle wrestlers – Andriy Kviatkovsky (65 kg), Olena Zasayeva (125 kg) and Oksana Herhel (58 kg) tested positive for a banned substance, meldonium. The tests were conducted during an Olympic qualifier tournament.

• Ukraine finished in fifth place with 14 medals at the 2016 European Wrestling Championships at Riga Arena in Riga, Latvia, on March 8-13.  Ukraine’s Zhan Beleniuk (85 kg, Greco-Roman) won gold. Five silver medals in all were won by Andriy Yatsenko (57 kg, freestyle) and Yuliya Tkach (63 kg, women’s freestyle), Oleksandr Chernetskyi (130 kg, Greco-Roman), Tetiana Kit (55 kg, women’s freestyle), Oksana Herhel (60 kg, women’s freestyle), Yulia Tkatch (63 kg, women’s freestyle); and eight bronze medals were won by Ibragim Aldatov (86 kg, freestyle), Semen Radulov (65 kg, freestyle), Alen Zasieiev (125 kg, freestyle), Dmytro Tsymbaliuk (59 kg, men’s Greco-Roman), Yulia Blahinya (53 kg), Hanna Vasylenko (58 kg), Alina Stadnik-Makhynia (69 kg) and Alla Cherkasova (75 kg). In team ranking Ukraine’s women’s freestyle team won first place with 59 points, the men’s freestyle team finished in third place (51 points), and the men’s Greco-Roman team finished in fifth place (36 points).

• Five Ukrainian wrestlers have qualified for the Rio Olympics this summer, including Pavlo Oliynyk (97 kg), Zhan Beleniuk (85 kg), Dimitriy Timchenko (98 kg), Oleksandr Chernetskyi (120 kg) and Yulia Tkach (63 kg).

Tennis

• At the 2016 French Open, also known as Roland Garros, on May 16-June 5, Elina Svitolina won (6-4, 6-4) in the third round against Ana Ivanovic of Serbia, won (6-3, 6-0) in the second round against Taylor Townsend of the U.S.A., and won 6-1, 6-3 in the first round against Sorana Cirstea of Romania. Svitolina lost against Serena Williams of the U.S.A. in the fourth round (6-1, 6-1). Illya Marchenko was eliminated in the first-round qualifier against Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic,  (5-7, 4-6, 3-6). Lesia Tsurenko lost against Caroline Garcia of France in the first round, (7-5, 6-3). Alexandr Dolgpolov, ranked in 30th place, withdrew from the tournament. Maryna Zanevska finished in 12th place in the singles qualifiers.  In women’s doubles, Svitolina and Daria Gavrilova of Australia lost (7-6, 7-6) against Gabriela Dabrowski and Mj. Martinez Sanchez of Spain in the first round.

• Lesia Tsurenko lost in the quarterfinal against Julia Goerges of Germany in a walkover at the WTA tennis tournament in Nuremburg, Germany, on May 14-21.

• Sergey Stakhovsky won the ATP Challenger Tour event in Seoul, South Korea, on May 9-15 after defeating Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei (4-6, 6-3, 7-6 [7]) in the final. Stakhovsky was eliminated in Round of 16 against John Millman of Australia, (6-2, 4-6, 2-6) during the Busan Open Challenger Tour event on May 2-8 in Busan, South Korea.

• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost in the Round of 64 against Dominic Thiem of Austria (3-6, 6-3, 4-6) at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on May 9-15.

• Lesia Tsurenko lost in the Round of 32 against Timea Bazsinszky of Switzerland, (6-2, 6-4) on May 9 at the WTA tournament in Rome. Elina Svitolina lost in the Round of 64 against Monica Puig of Pur (6-1, 4-6, 6-1).

• Lesia Tsurenko lost (6-2, 6-1) against Anastasiya Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in the Round of 64 at the Mutua Madrid Open on April 30 through May 7. Elina Svitolina lost in the round of 32 against Daria Gavrilova of Australia, (6-2, 7-6 [4]).  In women’s doubles, Kateryna Bondarenko and Olga Savchuk lost in the Round of 32 against Andrea Hlavackova and Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic (6-4, 7-6 [1]). In the men’s tournament that was held on May 2-8, Alexandr Dolgpolov lost in the Round of 32 against Milos Raonic of Canada (4-6, 7-6 [3], 2-6). In men’s doubles, Dologpolov and Bernard Tomic of Australia lost (3-6, 6-3, 3-10) in the Round of 32 against Henri Kontinen of Finland and John Peers of Australia.

• Sergiy Stakhovsky was eliminated in the quarterfinal against Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania (4-6, 5-7) of the 2016 Santaizi Challenger on April 25 through May 1 in Taipei, Taiwan. In men’s doubles, paired with Marco Chiudinelli, Stakhovksy lost in the quarterfinal (2-6, 4-6) against Frederik Nielsen of Denmark and David O’Hare of Ireland.

• Illya Marchenko lost in the Round of 16 against Damir Dzumhur of Bosnia-Herzegovina (3-6, 7-5, 3-6) at the TEB PNB Paribas Istanbul Open on April 24 through May 1. In men’s doubles, Marchenko and Radu Albot of Moldova were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Dominic Inglot of Great Britain and Robert Lindstedt of Sweden (6-7 [8], 3-6).

• Lesia Tsurenko also lost in the Round of 16 against Marina Erakovic of New Zealand after retiring in the second set (after losing 4-6 in the first set) at the Rabat WTA tennis tournament on April 25 in Rabat, Morocco.

• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost in the quarterfinal against Kei Nishikori of Japan (5-7, 0-6) at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell on April 18-24 in Barcelona.

• Illya Marchenko was eliminated in the Round of 16 against Federico Delbonis of Argentina (5-7, 2-6) at the BRD Nastase Tiriac Trophy in Bucharest, Romania, on April 18-24.

• Lesia Tsurenko lost in the Round of 32 against Sorana Cristea of Romania (6-3, 6-4) at the WTA tournament in Istanbul on April 18. Kateryna Bondarenko lost in the Round of 16 against Kristina Kucova of Slovakia (6-3, 1-6, 7-5).  In doubles, Bondarenko was paired with Olga Savchuk, and the duo lost on the Round of 16 against Nao Hibino and Kurumi Nara of Japan (3-6, 6-2).

• Elina Svitolina lost in the Round of 32 against Alexandra Panova of Russia 7-5, 1-6, 7-6 (6) at the WTA tournament in Bogota, Colombia, on April 11.

• Kateryna Bondarenko lost in the Round of 32 against Kristina Kucova of Slovakia (3-6, 6-3, 6-3) at the Charleston WTA tournament on April 4 in Charleston, S.C. In doubles, Bondarenko was paired with Olga Savchuk and the duo lost in the Round of 16 against Daria Kasatkina and Elena Vesnina of Russia (6-7, 6-3, 10-6).

• Elina Svitolina lost in the Round of 16 against Ekaterina Makarova of Russia (1-6, 4-6) at the WTA Miami Open on March 22.  Kateryna Bondarenko lost in the Round of 128 against Daria Kasatkina of Russia (6-2, 1-6, 6-2). Bondarenko was paired with Olga Savchuk in doubles, and lost in the quarterfinal against Timea Babos of Hungary and Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan (6-2, 6-4).

• Alexandr Dolgopolov lost in the third round of men’s singles against Richard Gasquet of France (6-2, 2-6, 1-6) at the PNB Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., on March 7-20. Kateryna Bondarenko won in the third round of women’s singles against Lesia Tsurenko, (3-6, 6-4, 7-6), and Bondarenko was eliminated in the fourth round by Serena Williams, (6-2, 6-2). In women’s doubles, Olha Savchuk and Bondarenko lost against Sara Errani of Italy and Oksana Kalashnikova of Russia in the second round, (7-6, 5-7, 1-0).

Cycling

• Natalia Krompets won the Portugal Cup race in Viana-du-Kashtel on March 17. Krompets finished with a time of 1:25:02 seconds. The race included cyclists from 22 countries.

• Yana Belomoyna, 23, was ranked in third place (1,677 points) by the UCI rankings for March 2016. A national champion of Ukraine, Belomoyna is a member of the CST Superior Brentjens Mountainbike Racing Team. At the Absa Cape Epic race in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 13-20, Belomoyna finished in second place in the general classification, with three first-place finishes in stages five, six and seven, second place in stage four, fourth place in stage three and one, and third place in stage two.

Fencing

• Olga Kharlan won the Moscow Grand Prix in women’s saber on May 28 after winning 15-13 against Mariel Zagunis of the U.S.A. Along the way, Kharlan won 15-9 against Yuliya Gavrilova of Russia in the semifinal and won 15-12 against Jiyeon Kim of South Korea in the quarterfinal.

• Ukraine won first place in the team event Challenge SNCF Reseau in Paris on May 22. Ukraine earned 64 points to top the table by 12 points from its nearest competitor, France (52 points). In the final, Ukraine won 40-38 against France.

• Olga Kharlan won gold in the women’s saber event at the Foshan World Cup on May 13-15 in Foshan, China. In the final, Kharlan won 15-11 against Kim Jiyeon of South Korea.

• Olga Leleiko won silver in the at the European Cup in women’s foil at the Trofeul Pellegrini in Bucharest, Romania, on May 8. In team competition, Ukraine’s women’s team (SVSM Kiev) – Kateryna Shentsova, Olga Stankevych, Leleiko and Oleksandra Sentyuta – finished in sixth place.

• Ukraine’s U23 men’s epee team – Roman Svichkar, Yuriy Taranenko, Volodymyr Stankevych, Yan Sych – won silver at the European U23 Championships on May 1-4 in Plovid, Bulgaria. In the final, Ukraine lost to Russia 15-17.

• Ukraine’s Bogdan Nikishin won gold in the Rio Grand Prix men’s epee event on April 22 in Rio de Janeiro. Nikishin won 15-13 in the final against Benjamin Steffen of Switzerland. Anatoly Herey tied with Kyoungdoo Park of South Korea for bronze in the same men’s category after Herey’s 15-8 loss to Steffen in the semifinal. Nikishin defeated Park in the semifinal 14-11.

• Ukraine’s junior boys saber fencing team finished in sixth place at the World Junior and Cadet World Championships in Bourges, France, on April 1-10. In the fifth-place match, Ukraine lost 45-43 against Hungary.

• Dimitri Kariuchenko (U-23) won gold in saber at the 2016 junior fencing championships on March 12 in Hlavice, Poland. Anatoly Herey finished in eighth place.

• Ukraine has qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympics with fencers in epee (three men and three women) and saber (three women). The names of the qualifying athletes have not been named.

Biathlon

• Anastasiya Merkushyna won gold in the women’s junior 12.5-kilometer race at the IBU Junior Open European Championships in Pokljuka, Slovenia, on March 16-20. She finished in fourth place in the women’s sprint and fifth place in the women’s pursuit. Anton Dudchenko won silver in the men’s junior individual 15-kilometer race, won bronze in the men’s pursuit and finished in fourth place in the men’s sprint,

• Nadiia Bielkina won first place in the women’s 7.5-kilometer sprint at the IBU Cup Biathlon 8 in Martell-Val Martello, Italy, on March 9-13.  Ukraine’s mixed relay (2×6-kilometer, 2×7.5-kilometer) team – Yuliya Zhuravok, Bielkina, Dmytro Rusinov and Vladimir Semakov – won third place.

• Ukraine’s mixed relay team (Valj Semerenko, Olena Pidhrushna, Sergey Semenov and Dmytro Pidruchnyi) finished in fourth place at the IBU World Championships Biathlon on March 2-13 in Oslo Holmenkollen, Norway. Semenov won third place in the men’s 10-kilometer sprint, finished in eighth place in the men’s 12.5-kilometer pursuit and finished in ninth palce in the men’s 15-kilometer mass start. Pidhrushna finished in fifth place in the women’s 10-kilometer pursuit. Ukraine’s women’s 4×6-kilometer relay team – Semerenko, Pidhrushna, Yulia Dzhima and Iryna Varynets – finished in fifth place.

Chess

• Mariya Muzychuk (2,546 points) and her older sister Anna (2,551 points) were listed among the top-10 female chess players by the International Chess Federation (FIDE). Among the top-100 included Nataliya Zhukhova (24th place, 2,475), Anna Ushenina (45th, 2,439), Inna Haponenko (52nd, 2,415) and Tetyana Vasylevych (95th, 2,367). Among the top male chess players, seven Ukrainian players were listed: Pavlo Elyanov (16th, 2,751), Vasyl Ivanchuk (39th, 2,710), Ruslan Ponomaryov (40th, 2,706), Yuriy Kryvoruchko (55th, 2,682), Anton Korobov (95th, 2,656), Zahhar Yefimenko (96th, 2,656) and Oleksandr Areshchenko (99th, 2,654).

• Mariya Muzychuk was named the world’s best chess player of 2015 by the Women’s Commission of the International Chess Federation. Muzychuk won the 2015 Chess Hetman tournament in Ukraine but this year lost against Hou Yifan of China at a one-on-one 18-day chess competition in Lviv.

Gymnastics

• Ukraine won four medals at the 2016 World Cup Rhythmic Gymnastics in Guadalajara, Spain, on June 1-6. Hanna Rizatdinova won three medals – including silver in the ball final (19.000 points), bronze in the individual all-around, bronze in the clubs final (19.00 points), bronze in the hoop (18.950 points). In team competition of five ribbons, Ukraine won third place with 17.10 points.  Rizatdinova finished in fifth place in the individual ribbon event. Khrystyna Pogranychna won gold in the hoop final (16.050) and fifth place in the rope final. Ukraine finished n fourth place in the six clubs-two hoops event with 17.60 points. Olena Dyachenko finish in fourth place in the clubs final (15.150 points).

• Hanna Rizardinova won three medals at the 2016 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup in Sofia, Bulgaria, on May 27-29. Rizatdinova won gold in the hoop (18.8 points) and two silver medals – in clubs (18.45) and ball (18.8). In the all-around, she also won first place in the included hoop (18.7) and ball (18.7) for a total of 37.4 points, and placed in fourth place in ribbon (18.1). In group competition, Ukraine finished in sixth place with a point total of 17.750; and Ukraine finished in sixth place in the mixed event of three clubs and two hoops (17.1 points).

• Ukraine won five gold medals at the 2016 World Challenge Cup in Varna, Bulgaria, on May 13-15. Oleg Verniaiev won gold in men’s parallel bars, pommel-horse and floor exercise. Ihor Radivilov won gold in rings, and Verniaiev won silver in the same event. Radivilov won gold in the vault.

• Yana Fedrorova won gold in the women’s vault at the Gym Festival 2016 in Trnava, Slovakia, on May 15. Fedorova finished in fifth place in the uneven bars, sixth place in the balance beam, and finished in sixth place in the all-around (vault, uneven bars, beam and floor). In the junior women’s category, Alona Titarenko finished in fourth place in the vault and fifth place in the floor exercise, Valeriia Iarmolenko finished in fourth place in the balance beam and sixth place in the all-around,

• Hanna Rizatdinova won gold at the women’s International Rhythmic Gymnastics Tournament in Corbeil-Essones, France, on May 6-8. Rizatdinova won first place in the hoop (18.416), ball (18.773), clubs (18.650) and ribbon (18.366) for a total of 74.165 (first place in the all-around). In the competition finals for seniors, Rizatdinova also won gold in the women’s hoop (18.700), ball (18.600), clubs (18.683) and ribbon (18.600).

• Ukraine is in first place in the global medal standings with five medals (three gold, one silver and one bronze), based on Ukraine’s artistic gymnastics team performance. Oleg Verniaiev won three gold medals  (parallel bars, 16.133 points; all-around, 92.107 points; vault, 15.333 points; floor exercise, 15.266 points; and pommel horse, 15.633 points) at the Aquece Rio test event on April 16-22 in Rio de Janeiro. Ukraine’s men’s team (Vladyslav Hryko, Ihor Radivilov, Maksym Semiankiv, Andrii Sienichkin, Verniaiev and Illia Yehorov) won second place in the team competition (floor, pommel horse, rings, vault, parallel bars and horizontal bar). The team finished with 350.160 points, having won second place in the floor exercise, first in the pommel horse, fourth place in the rings, fifth place in the vault, third place in the parallel bars and third place in the horizontal bar. Radivilov won bronze in  men’s vault (14.649 points).

• Oleg Verniaiev won gold in the men’s vault final and the men’s horizontal bar at the Gymworld Challenge Cup Turnier der Meister in Cottbus, Germany, at Lausitz Arena on March 31-April 3. Igor Radivilov won gold in the men’s rings event. Verniaiev won silver in the men’s pommel horse and bronze in the men’s floor event. Angelina Kysla finished in fourth pace in the women’s floor event final. Verniaiev finished in fifth place in the men’s parallel bars.

• Hanna Rizatdinova won two gold and one silver medal at the FIG Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup on April 1-3 in Pesaro, Italy. Rizatdinova won gold in the ball and ribbon individual events and silver in the hoop individual event. In the individual senior five ribbons event, Ukraine finished in fifth place. In the six clubs, two hoops event, Ukraine finished in fourth place.

• Hanna Rizatdinova won second place in the ball discipline, and third place in ribbon in the individual category at the International Grand Prix in Thiais, France, on March 26-27. In team competition, Ukraine won third place in the Challenge de la Ville de Thiais, third place in the team ribbon event and third place in the combined event six balls and two hoops.

• Hanna Rizatdinova won silver in the individual all-around category B division at the 2016 Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup event in Lisbon, Portugal, on March 17-20. Rizatdinova won gold medals in clubs and ribbon, and silver in hoop.

• Ukraine’s Krystyn Pohranychna (60.150 points) and Olena Diachenko (30.450 points) won first place in the junior individual team final at the 2016 Aphrodite Cup on March 11-13 in Athens. Pohracnychna and Anastasia Valentirova won the first- and second-place spots in the junior individual all-around final, and Viktoriia Onoprienko finished in fourth place.  Diachenko (58.100 points) also won first place in the junior individual all-around final. Pohranychna and Diachenko finished in first place and fourth place, respectively, in the junior individual all-around. Pohranychna won first place in junior individual hoop final, second place in the junior rope final and third place in the junior individual ball final, Diachenko finished in second place in the junior club final. Valeriya Khanina won second place in the senior clubs final and the hoop final, finished in fourth place in the senior individual ball final and finished in fifth place in the senior ribbon final,

Basketball

• Ukrainian NBA player Vitaliy Potapenko topped the rankings by the website basket.com.ua with 3,995 points (over 11 years). Other players included Stanislav Medvedenko (1,390 points, seven years), Alex Len (1,023 points, three years), Alexander Volkov (1,019 points, two years), Oleksiy Pecherov (438 points, three years), Kyrylo Fesenko (305 points, five years), and Vyacheslav Kravtsov (97 points, two years).

Figure skating

• Renata Ohanesian and Mark Bardel won third place in pairs skating at the 2016 World Junior Figure Skating Championships on March 14-20 in Debrecen, Hungary.

Diving

• Viktoriya Kesar and Anastasiya Nedobiha won silver in the women’s 3-meter springboard synchronized diving event at the 2016 FINA Diving World Series invitational in Beijing on March 13. Oleksandr Gorshkovozov and Maksym Dolgov also won silver in the men’s synchronized 10-meter platform.

• At the 2016 FINA Diving World Series in Dubai, Qatar, on March 17-19, Ukraine won one silver (Oleksandr Goroshkovozov and Ilya Kvasha, 3-meter synchronized springboard) and one bronze medal (Viktoriya Kesar and Anastasiia Nedobiha, 3-meter synchronized springboard).

Skiing

• Tanya Prymak, from Goshen, N.Y., won third place win the women’s ski-cross event on March 19 at the 2016 Sport Chek Canadian Championships in Smithers, British Columbia.

Marathon

• Olha Kotovsska won first place in the New Taipei City Wan Jin Marathon at the IAAF Bronze Label Road Races. She finished with a time of 2:36.38 seconds.

Pentathlon

• Anastaiya Mokhnyuk won silver in the women’s pentathlon (4,847 points) and Alina Fyodorova won bronze (4,770 points) in the same event at the 2016 IAAF World Indoor Championships on March 17-20 in Portland, Ore. Oleksiy Kasyanov won silver in the men’s heptathlon (6,182 points). In the medals standings, Ukraine tied with Germany for 14th place, with two silver medals and one bronze medal.

Judo

• Maryna Cherniak (48 kg) tied for bronze (with Julia Figueroa of Spain) at the World Judo Masters tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, on May 27-29. Svitlana Iaromka (78 kg) finished in fifth place and Victoriia Turks (78 kg) finished in seventh place.

• Georg Khachatrian (66 kg) and Svitlana Iaromka (+78 kg) won bronze medals in their respective weight divisions at the Judo Grand Prix in Samsun, Turkey, on April 1-3.  Iryna Kindzerska (+78 kg) finished in fifth place and Quedjau Nhabali (90 kg) finished in seventh place.

Weightlifting

• Ukraine won 11 medals (six gold, three silver and two bronze) at the European Weightlifting Championships in Forde, Norway, on April 8-16 and finished in third place in the medals standings. Iryna Dekha (75 kg) won three gold medals (115 kg snatch, 135 kg clean and jerk, and 250 kg total), Yulia Paratova (53 kg) won a gold after she lifted 94 kg in the snatch and silver for her total (202 kg) after she put up 108 kg in the clean and jerk. Oleksandr Pielieshenko (85 kg) won gold in the clean and jerk (204 kg), and in the total (372 kg), after winning silver in the snatch (168 kg). Veronika Ivasiuk (58 kg) won silver in the snatch (90 kg) and Ihor Shymechko (+105 kg) won bronze in the snatch (196 kg). Yana Diachenko (48 kg) won two bronze medals – 78 kg in the snatch and 98 kg in the clean-and-jerk.

Ice hockey

• Ukraine’s men’s hockey team won 2-1 against Great Britain on April 23 at Dom Sportova as part of the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Division I, Group B, on April 17-23 in Zagreb, Croatia. Ukraine’s team leads the standings with four wins and one loss, and 12 points (with a goal differential of 20:6). Ukraine lost 1-2 against Lithuania on April 22, won 7-1 against Estonia on April 20, won 4-1 against Croatia on April 18, and won 6-1 against Romania on April 17. The Group A division (Austria, Slovenia, Poland, Japan, Italy and South Korea) competed in Katowice, Poland, on April 23-29. Ukraine’s leading scorer thus far has been Vladyslav Gavryk with three goals and four assists for seven points; Eduard Zakharchenko, Ukraine’s goaltender, topped the standings with six goals against and a 1.21 goals against average, with a 95.35 save percentage.

• Ukraine’s U-18 men’s ice hockey team finished in third place in Division I, Group B, at the 2016 IIHF Ice Hockey U-18 World Championship in Asiago, Italy, on April 18-24. After five matches, Ukraine won three, and lost two, with 17 goals for and 15 against to finish with nine points. Other teams in Group B included Hungary, Japan, Slovenia, Italy and South Korea. In the tournament final that was played in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Finland won the gold, Sweden won silver and the U.S.A. won bronze.

Athletics

• Igor Glavan won bronze in the men’s 50-kilometer race walk (3:44:02 seconds), and Ukraine’s men’s team  — Glavan, third place, (3:44:02 seconds); Ivan Banzeruk, seventh place (3:51:57 seconds); Sergiy Budza, 18th place, (4:01:23 seconds); and Marian Zakalnytsky, 29th place, (4:13:24) – won in second place in the 50-kilometer race.

Paralympic

• Ukraine’s paralympic swim team won 110 medals (45 gold, 34 silver and 31 bronze medals) at the European Swimming Championship in Funchal, Portugal, on May x-8. This year, Ukraine’s swimmers set 10 records, and surpassed its main rival – Russia – for the first time in several years. “The result in beyond comparison. What makes it even more unique is that our team comprises 45 athletes, and 35 of them are medal-winners. Just think, how important is everyone who took part in the competition,” said Valeriy Sushkevych, presidential commissioner for Rights of People with Disabilities in Ukraine. In the 2016 IPC rankings, Ukraine topped the medal standings with 98 medals – 37 gold, 36 silver and 25 bronze medals.

Paddlesports

• Ukraine will have one women’s canoe slalom (K-1) team and three entries in the canoe sprint category (C-1 men’s 1,000 meters, C-2 men 1,000 meters, K-4, 500 meters). Ukraine’s women’s K-1 team won a top finish at the 2016 European Canoe Slalom Championship in Liptovsky Mikulas, Slovakia, on May 13-15. The canoe sprint entries qualified after the 2015 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships.

Mountaineering

• Iryna Galay, 28, from Zakarpattia summitted Mount Everest in Nepal and became the first Ukrainian woman to do so. An alpinist club from Kharkiv reported that Ms. Galay had reached the summit at 4 a.m. local time. Soon after Ms. Galay reached the summit, another Ukrainian woman, Tetyana Yalovchak was hot on her trail on her way to the top of Everest. Ms. Galay is not a professional climber and got into the activity three years ago after she made a bet with a colleague that should would be able to summit Mount Kazbek. After she completed that challenge, Ms. Galay she continued conditioning with summit challenges before attempting the highest peak in the world. Ms. Galay was instructed and guided by professional alpinist Viktor Bobok, the first Ukrainian man who has summitted all of the mountain peaks of the world’s seven continents.

Kickboxing

• Ukraine’s WAKO Ukraine team finished the World Kickboxing Championships in Austria on June X and won seven medals – one gold, two silver and four bronze medals.

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