NEWS

Young Olympians of Ukraine Bring Home 3 Silver Medals
INNSBRUCK, January 22 – The Gold Medal Game of the Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament between the teams of Finland and Russia, with Team Finland winning, has just wrapped up the sports competitions of the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games in Innsbruck. Ukrainian Team which was represented here by 23 athletes in 8 sports come back home with 3 silver medals and the 25th place in the Overall Team Ranking (not counting the medal in the Figure Skating Mixed NOC Team Event). A whole number of Ukrainian athletes entered the top-tens of the best young Olympians of the Planet in various Biathlon, Figure skating, Luge and Short Track Speed Skating events. Dancing duo Aleksandra NAZAROVA / Maxim NIKITIN, figure skater Yaroslav PANIOT and Mariya DOLGOPOLOVA who competed in Short Track Speed Skating entered the Olympic History of Ukraine as Silver Medalists of the 1st ever Winter Youth Olympics. The festival of sport, friendship and respect comes to its end, and in a couple of hours the Olympic flame will go out, to flash out again in 2016 in Lillehammer (Norway). For a selection of...

Good Luck, Youth Olympic Team Ukraine!
KYIV, December 21 – Winter Youth Team Ukraine is ready and rearing to go for their first Olympic achievements! Today, during the “Good Luck” Ceremony which traditionally precedes every Olympics, they got their parting wishes for success at the inaugural Winter Youth Olympic Games. This ground-breaking competition will take place in Innsbruck (Austria) between 13th and 22nd of January next year. Our country will be represented by 23 young athletes, 14-18 years of age, in 8 sports (Biathlon, Figure Skating, Ski Jumping, Nordic Combined, Luge, Short Track Speed Skating, Alpine and Cross-Country skiing). Each of them today received an official Delegate Pin from Chef de Mission of the Ukrainian Team at the 1st Winter Youth Olympics Anna Sorokina. By another tradition, a flag handover ceremony took place, the national flag handed to the Young Ambassador of Ukraine for the Innsbruck YOG, champion of the 1st ever Summer YOG which in 2010 took place in Singapore Kateryna Derun. Among those who attended the Ceremony to wish good luck for the Team were Senior...

Ukraine to host EuroBasket 2015
MUNICH, December 18 – FIBA Europe President Mr Olafur Rafnsson has announced today that EuroBasket 2015 will be hosted by Ukraine. The announcement followed the impressive presentation made by the bidding team with Ukrainian Federation’s President Oleksandr Volkov and NOC of Ukraine President, IOC Member Sergey Bubka as key speakers. Among the other presenters were Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Borys Kolesnikov, Ukrainian Euro 2012 LOC Director Markiyan Lubkivsky, National Team coach Mike Fratello and 2 time NBA Champion Slava Medvedenko. Ukraine had been considered a favorite over the joint bid of France, Germany, Italy and Croatia. No major basketball tournaments had been held in the country before. Three days before the assignment the four countries suddenly withdrew their bid. Ukraine has accomplished its mission triumphantly with Sergey Bubka making a final emotional speech. “I’m happy and proud for my country and personally for my friend Sasha Volkov whom I know for many years. This victory is very important for us as FIBA Europe Eurobasket is one of the...

Olympic Committees of Ukraine to Collaborate with Tajik Colleagues
KYIV, December 15 – Today, within the framework of the official meeting of the Presidents of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych and Republic of Tajikistan Emomalii Rahmon, an Agreement of Cooperation was concluded between the National Olympic Committees of the two countries. The document was signed by the President of the NOC of Ukraine Sergey Bubka and the Vice-President of the Olympic Committee of Tajikistan Maliksho Nematov. The parties agreed to run bilateral competitions and to collaborate in numerous areas including the preparation of athletes for international events, developing sports science technologies, implementing marketing strategies, exchanging information and specialists. Earlier this year the NOC of Ukraine comcluded similar agreements with the NOCs of Russia, Cameroon and Iraq. NOC of Ukraine www.noc-ukr.org

Sergey Bubka awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of 4th grade
Sergey Bubka, President of the NOC of Ukraine, was awarded the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise of 4th grade. The award was conferred on him by the President of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych in commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of referendum on the Act of Declaration of Independence of Ukraine which took place on December 1st, 1991. The Act was supported by 90% of Ukrainians. The Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise is awarded for distinguished services to the state and the Ukrainian nation. Akihito, Emperor of Japan, Shimon Peres, President of Israel, and Jacques Chirac, ex-President of France, are all among the few who received this Order. In 2001 Sergey Bubka became the first Ukrainian athlete to receive the highest state award of Ukraine – «Hero of Ukraine». NOC of Ukraine www.noc-ukr.org

Ukraine attends “Bidding for the Games” Conference en route to 2022 Olympics
Delegates of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine took part in the “Bidding for the Games” Conference held by the International Olympic Committee at the beginning of November. The NOC President and IOC member Mr. Sergey Bubka, along with his Adviser Mr. Sergey Gontcharov, NOC Executive Director Mrs. Natalya Kovalenko and 2000 Olympic bronze medalist Mrs. Anna Sorokina who is now one of NOC managers were among those who attended the two-day conference at the Olympic Museum in Lausanne, Switzerland. The participants who represented 25 cities from all over the world discussed the benefits of staging an Olympics and listened to the impressive line-up of speakers. They were welcomed by IOC President Dr. Jacques Rogge and IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Mr. Gilbert Felli. Mr. Dmitry Chernyshenko (President and CEO of Sochi 2014), Mr. Francis Chong (Deputy CEO of YOG 2010 in Singapore), Lord Sebastian Coe (London 2012 Chairman) and Mr. Carlos Nuzman (President of Rio 2016 and of the Brazilian Olympic Committee) all shared with the participants their experience in...

“War can ruin sport venues but it cannot destroy passion for sport in people’s hearts”
Sergey Bubka visited Sarajevo for the great athletic celebration. The IAAF Vice-President took part in celebrations of the 100th anniversary of Bosnia-Herzegovina’ modern athletics and the 15th anniversary of IAAF Solidarity Meeting which was first held in Sarajevo in 1996. Bubka paid a visit to the venue of that meeting – Kosevo Olympic Stadium (now called Asim Ferhatović Hase Stadium), the site of the opening ceremony of the 1984 Winter Olympic Games hosted by Sarajevo. The venue was bombarded during the Bosnian war of 1992-1995, as well as the whole city. Its reconstruction was initiated by the athletes’ community of Sarajevo straight after the end of the war. In September 1996 fifty thousand spectators gathered in the Stadium for this first act of peace and fraternity, backed by the international athletics movement. Over 100 athletes, including Olympic and world champions, took part in a deeply moving ceremony. The stadium was returned to sport, following major reconstruction works financed by the IOC and the IAAF and supported personally by IAAF President...

Sergei Bubka: “Sport gave me opportunities and made me who I am. It’s my turn to give back”
The Ukrainian star ex-athlete made a presentation at the Peace and Sport International Forum in Monaco. Passionate speech of one the best athletes in sports' history opened the “Champions on and off the field of play” session at the second day of the Forum which is held from October 26th to 28th at the Fairmont Hotel, Monaco. Bubka told his story, which led him to support the Peace and Sport initiative. He started with flashback to 1984 when he, as well as dozens of his compatriots, was deprived of a chance to win a medal at the Los Angeles Summer Olympics because of Soviet political boycott. In four years Bubka, already a multiple world record holder, managed to win his Olympic gold medal in Seoul. Staying at the Olympic Village “opened my eyes. It turned my world upside down. I discovered the true Values of Sport – Diversity, Friendship, Respect for your rivals, Respect for the rules of the Games”, said the champion whose heights are still unconquered by any of his successors. In the early 90s, still an active athlete, he founded Sergey Bubka’s Sports...

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