Ukraine is one of the trailblazing countries that nurture incredibly talented sport icons. From soccer to pole vaulting, these sporting athletes brought home incredible achievements.

No matter where in the world you are right now, you would have noticed the Russian invasion that Ukrainians are currently battling. There remains a glimmer of hope as the rest of the world including sports fans stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and support and donate to protect everyone affected. You can do it from here. This article sheds some light on some of the most remarkable Ukrainian sports stars whose skills and talents know no bounds.

Vasyl Lomachenko 

Vasyl Lomachenko is one of the most successful boxers today. The super talented 34 year old boasts a mighty accomplishment of being a world champion in three weight classes. He won multiple silver and gold medals at many World Championships and the Olympics from 2007 to 2011. In addition to those incredible achievements, Lomachenko has also won numerous awards from media outlets throughout his career. This includes him being named Boxer of the Year by both CBS Sports HBO Sports in 2016. 

One of the other highlights of Lomachenko’s career is being named Fight of the Year by the Boxing Writers Association of America and The Ring in 2017. These remarkable achievements aren’t surprising though, because Lomachenko is extremely dedicated to his craft and has worked really hard to perfect his skills. 

Oleksandr Usyk

Oleksandr Usyk is one of the most famous boxers to hail from the Crimean Peninsula, Simferopol. Usyk grew up in humble beginnings and has worked since a very young age to make ends meet. He initially fell in love with football, but ended up switching to boxing because he couldn’t afford the cost of footballs. 

After making great strides to become a leader in boxing, he won gold medals in the Olympics and World Championships in 2011 and 2012. At the age of 26, he turned professional and signed a promo deal with the Klitschko brothers’ K2 Promotions. He defeated Anthony Joshua in September 2021, and became world champion in two weight classes, unifying the four major heavyweight titles.

Zinaida Turchyna 

Zinaida Turchyna is a retired handball player with a phenomenal sporting career in an era where women’s participation in sport was rather rare. She was coached by her husband when she competed for the Soviet Union in all the major international tournaments from 1973 to 1988. 

Turchyna received an incredible honour of being named the best female handball player of the 20th century by a panel from the International Handball Federation and multiple sports journalists. In 1993, she swapped her direct participation in the sport for a coach’s uniform and was tasked with taking over the coaching position for Spartak Kyiv and the Ukrainian national team, which was previously held by her late husband. 

Sergey Bubka 

First up, we have 58-year-old Sergey Bubka, a champion pole-vaulter. Bubka started his pole-vaulting career at the ripe age of 9. He won the pole vault at the world track-and-field championships in Finland in 1983. He was the first pole-vaulter to have ever cleared 6.1 meters. 

The incredibly talented Sergey Bubka managed to increase the world record by 21cm between 1984 and 1988. Widely recognized as one of the most successful male pole vaulters, Bubka also went on to win a gold medal at the Olympics. He officially retired in 2001, but he continued to serve the sporting industry as he  took on the role of vice president of the IAAF organization in 2007, which he still occupies today. He has also been serving as president of the National Olympic Ukraine Committee since 2005.

Inessa Kravets 

Inessa Kravets was amongst the leading female triple jumpers in the world in the 1990s. She won the long jump challenge at the Goodwill Games in 1990 and the long jump silver medal at the Olympics in 1992. Kravets also broke the world record in 1991 with 14.95 meters. If this isn’t girl power, I don’t know what is! 

Larisa Latynina

Next up, we have 87 year old Larisa Latynina, a former artistic gymnast. Latynina holds the record of the first female athlete to win the most Olympic gold medals for gymnastics. She bagged a total of 18 Olympic medals and remained unbeaten for a period of 48 years. Latynina is one of the most decorated competitors in the history of the Olympic Games and she has received numerous credits for helping establish the Soviet Union as a dominant force in gymnastics. 

Andriy Shevchenko

Andriy Shevchenko is a former football player, politician, and manager. He spent seven years playing at AC Milan and three years with Chelsea. Shevchenko was the top scorer in Ukraine between 1995 and 2012. He won the Ballon d’Or and the Bronze award in 2004 FIFA World Player of the year. 

Shevchenko retired from football in 2012 and joined politics as a member of Ukraine-Forward!, a social democratic political party in Ukraine. In addition to his political interests, he remains passionate about the Ukrainian national football team. 

Valeriy Lobanovskyi

Valeriy Lobanovskyi is commonly known as a football coach icon of all time. He was not only a football coach but a footballer, mathematician, and plumber. Lobanovskyi was more involved in coaching football than actually playing for most of his career. He won more than thirty trophies for his stellar football coaching skills. Lobanovski was a laureate of the UEFA Order of Merit and FIFA Order of merit. He was also awarded Hero of Ukraine posthumously and voted 6th of the 100 Greatest Ukrainians in a nationwide poll in 2008.

Vitali and Vladimir Klitschko 

The two Klitschko brothers, Vitali and Wladimir are former professional boxers. Their peak years were between 2004 and 2015, where they were considered the dominant world heavyweight champions of their era. Vitali Klitschko retired from boxing in 2013 and started his political career in Ukraine. The younger brother, Wladimir, was widely known for his strategic thinking and exceptional knock-out power. Both brothers are highly skilled at boxing and even entered into the Guinness World Records in 2020 for winning the most world heavyweight title fights. 

Yana Klochkova 

Yana Klochkova was the first woman to win consecutive pairs of Olympic gold medals for swimming. She was born into a family of athletes and took up swimming at the age of 7. Soon after, when she reached her mid-teen years, she began competing internationally. Klochkova broke the 200m world record at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney and won multiple medals in 2004 and 2000. 

The Takeaway 

The inspiration behind this round-up of Ukrainian game changers in the sport industry was in light of the current circumstances that the people of Ukraine are unfortunately battling. As remarkable as these sports heroes are in their respective sports, they’re also extremely passionate about their country and some of them including Vitali Klitschko have even volunteered to take up arms to defend the beautiful land of Ukraine. The country’s upheaval will undoubtedly have a ripple effect across many industries, with sports being one of them. Who knows what the future holds during these uncertain times, but we remain hopeful that peace shall soon be restored!

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Author: Prenelle Pillay.