Sport in Ukraine
Ukraine is an Eastern European country that was once part of the Soviet Union, and did not compete in world sport under its own name until the 1990s. It is bordered by Belarus, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russia and a few more countries in the region. This has inevitably had an effect on the country both politically and socially but what has been quite noticeable is how Ukraine has never lost its love of sports. The former Soviet Union had placed great importance on physical education and fitness to which Ukraine had greatly benefited because it left Ukraine with many of the facilities that they would have not built on their own.
As with most European countries, Ukraine places special significance on football. There are a number of Ukrainians on the football stage most notably Golden Ball Awardees Ihor Belanov, Oleh Blokhin, and Andriy Shevchenko. The Ukraine national team made their first appearance in the FIFA World Cup in 2006 and reached as far as the quarterfinals where they lost to Italy, the champions of that year.
Ukraine has also produced many notable athletes in other sports like brothers Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko who both held world heavyweight belts in boxing, pole vault world record holder Sergey Bubka who held the indoor world record for a staggering 21 years (1993-2014) and has held the outdoor record since 1994. In basketball, the Ukraine national basketball team has also qualified for the FIBA World Cup in 2014.
Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko on a Ukraine stampBelow are details of sports, sporting events and sports people related to Ukraine. Is there something missing? If you know of something that should be listed here, please let us know.
Popular sports of Ukraine
- Football (Soccer), basketball, wrestling, figure skating, ice hockey, tennis, gymnastics
Ukrainian Sporting Success
- Ukraine reached the FIBA World Cup for the first time in 2014
- The Ukraine national football team made their first (and only to this date) appearance at the World Cup Finals in 2006 in Germany, where they reached the quarter finals.
Great athletes from Ukraine
- Andriy Shevchenko (football)
- Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko (boxing)
- Anna Bessonova (gymnastics)
- Larissa Latynina (gymnastics)
- Sergey Bubka (track and field - pole vault)
Ukraine Sports trivia
- Gymnast Larissa Latynina won six medals for three Olympic Games in a row; she remains the Olympic athlete with the most medals (18) and the most medals in individual events (14).
- Boxer Vasyl Lomachenko currently ties the record for becoming a world champion in the fewest professional fights - winning the WBO featherweight title in his third fight.
Ukraine at major events
- Ukraine at the Summer Olympics
- Ukraine at the Winter Olympics
- Ukraine at the Paralympics
- Ukraine at the FIFA World Cup
- Ukraine at the UEFA Euros
Past sporting events hosted in Ukraine
- 2012 Ukraine hosted the UEFA Euro in 2012 along with Poland.
Upcoming sporting events in Ukraine
Annual sporting events held in Ukraine
- Ukrainian Championship - the Ukrainian premier league (football)
- Ukrainian Cup - national football knock-out competition
- Ukrainian Super Cup - game between the winners of the Ukrainian Championship and the Ukrainian Cup
Sporting Facilities in Ukraine
- NSC Olimpiyskiy - stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine
Related Pages
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