Rodion Mykhailovych Luka ( uk, Родіон Михайлович Лука; born 29 October 1972) is a Ukrainian yachtsman, Merited Sports Master, silver medallist of the Olympic Games 2004, Class 49er World Champion 2005, European Champion, and Sportsman 2005 in Ukraine. In August 2015 Luka was elected as the President of the Sailing Federation of Ukraine.

Biography

Rodion Luka was born on 29 October 1972 in a family of engineers. He went to the Vyshhorod (Ukraine, Kyiv region) secondary school. When he was 11, he quit playing the piano at the music school and took to sailing. He gained his first experience in this field during practice sessions at the Kyiv Reservoir. In 1985, Luka bore the bell in sailing – he won the USSR (Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) “Republican Regatta” and started preparing for the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Youth Championship. In 1988, he won all the youth competitions, including the Ukrainian Championship and USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) Championship. Henceforward, Rodion Luka starts going in for sailing professionally.

Education

1995 – graduated from National University of Physical Education and Sports of Ukraine specializing in “Professional and Olympic Sports Management”. 1999 – graduated from Kyiv State Maritime Academy with the specialization “Navigator, Ship Driver”.

Professional achievements

Rodion Luka obtained his first international prize in 1993. He became the gold medallist in the Warnemünde Laser-Radial-Class Regatta, and bronze medallist in the European Championship in Sardinia (Italy). *In 1994, the sportsman captured silver of the European Championship in England and World Championship in Japan. *In 1996, Rodion Luka represents Ukraine in the Laser-Class Olympic Games. *Next year, he starts the Olympic Sydney 2000 49er-Class Campaign together with Georgiy Leonchuk. *In 1999, Rodion Luka obtains a license to compete in the Olympics 2000, where he ranks the tenth. Coincidently, he takes the title of the Champion of Australia and wins the bronze in the 49er-Class European Championship. *In 2000s, Rodion Luka made the greatest professional breakthrough in yachting sport. He and his team headed the list in the ISAF (International Sailing Federation) World Ranking (2002-2003), won the 49er-class championship and took the lead in the world ranking (2005). *In 2005, Rodion Luka obtains the title of the Sportsman of the Year in Ukraine according to the National Olympic Committee. *In 2008, he becomes a bronze medallist of the European and World Championships, and in 2012 – SB20-Class Champion of England, Russia and Europe.

Volvo Ocean Race

In 2008-2009, Luka was the only Ukrainian who competed in the most prestigious Volvo Ocean Race global sailing regatta on the “Kasatka (Killer Whale)” yacht as a steersman. Volvo Ocean Race makes the list of five most significant competitions of yachtsmen worldwide.

Coaching and training

*In 2012-2013, Rodion Luka works as the RC44-class coach. *In 2012, he establishes the yachting school – KievRacingYachtClub. The Club created the conditions for yachting for the people who have neither time, nor money to buy and maintain own yachts. The Club organizes amateur regattas; the Club teams continuously participate in international competitions.

Family

Married. Wife – Anastasiia, children: Kirill and Sofia.

Career highlights

;World Championships :1997 -

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, 32nd, 49er :1998 -

Bandol Bandol (; oc, Bandòu) is a commune in Var department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, southeastern France. Bandol and the seat of its eponymous commune, was founded in 1595 and built around a small military fort. The Bandol wine region, lo ...

, 14th, 49er :1999 -

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, 15th, 49er :2001 -

Malcesine Malcesine is a ''comune'' (municipality) on the eastern shore of Lake Garda in the Province of Verona in the Italian region Veneto, located about northwest of Venice and about northwest of Verona. Geography and divisions The comune of Malcesine ...

, 3rd, 49er :2002 -

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, 5th, 49er :2003 - Cadiz, 3rd, 49er (with George Leonchuk) :2004 -

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, 14th, 49er :2005 -

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, 1st, 49er :2006 -

Aix-les-Bains Aix-les-Bains (, ; frp, Èx-los-Bens; la, Aquae Gratianae), locally simply Aix, is a commune in the southeastern French department of Savoie.

, 9th, 49er (with George Leonchuk) :2007 -

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Portugal, tourist de ...

, 14th, 49er (with George Leonchuk) :2008 -

Sorrento Sorrento (, ; nap, Surriento ; la, Surrentum) is a town overlooking the Bay of Naples in Southern Italy. A popular tourist destination, Sorrento is located on the Sorrentine Peninsula at the south-eastern terminus of the Circumvesuviana rail ...

, 3rd, 49er (with George Leonchuk) ;Summer Olympics :

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, 35th,

Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, 10th, 49er (with George Leonchuk) :

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

, 2nd, 49er (with George Leonchuk) ;European Championships :1996 -

Quiberon Quiberon (; , ) is a commune in the French department of Morbihan, administrative region of Brittany, western France. It is situated on the southern part of the Quiberon peninsula, the northern part being the commune of Saint-Pierre-Quiberon. It ...

, 21st,

:1998 -

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, 18th, 49er :2000 -

Medemblik Medemblik () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. It lies immediately south of the polder and former municipality of Wieringermeer. History Medemblik was a prosperous ...

, 3rd, 49er :2001 -

Brest Brest may refer to: Places *Brest, Belarus **Brest Region **Brest Airport **Brest Fortress * Brest, Kyustendil Province, Bulgaria * Břest, Czech Republic *Brest, France ** Arrondissement of Brest **Brest Bretagne Airport ** Château de Brest *Br ...

, 4th, 49er :2002 -

Grimstad Grimstad () is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It belongs to the geographical region of Sørlandet. The administrative center of the municipality is the town of Grimstad. Some of the villages in Grimstad include Eide, Espenes, Fevik, ...

, 8th, 49er :2003 - Laredo, 9th, 49er :2004 - Torbole sul Garda, 16th, 49er :2005 - Vallensbaek, 10th, 49er :2006 - Weymouth, 10th, 49er :2007 -

Marsala Marsala (, local ; la, Lilybaeum) is an Italian town located in the Province of Trapani in the westernmost part of Sicily. Marsala is the most populated town in its province and the fifth in Sicily. The town is famous for the docking of Gius ...

, 13th, 49er (with George Leonchuk) ;Other achievements :2000 -

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the J ...

Kieler Woche The Kiel Week (german: Kieler Woche) or Kiel Regatta is an annual sailing event in Kiel, the capital of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is the largest sailing event in Europe, and also one of the largest Volksfeste in Germany, attracting m ...

, 2nd, 49er :2001 -

, SPA Regatta, 1st, 49er :2001 -

, 2nd, 49er :2002 -

, SPA Regatta, 2nd, 49er :2003 -

Hyères Hyères (), Provençal Occitan: ''Ieras'' in classical norm, or ''Iero'' in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. The old town lies from the sea clustered around t ...

Semaine Olympique Française The Semaine Olympique Française () is a sailing regatta organised in Hyères by the French Sailing Federation, whose 2023 edition is the 54th edition and open to women's ILCA 6, men's ILCA 7, mixed 470, men's 49er, women's 49er FX, mixed N ...

, 1st, 49er :2003 -

, SPA Regatta, 3rd, 49er :2005 -

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Rolex Miami OCR, 2nd, 49er :2006 -

, Rolex Miami OCR, 3rd, 49er :2006 -

, North American Championships, 3rd, 49er

External links

* * *
49er World Championships

OUTTERIDGE And AUSTIN Win 49er World Title
{{DEFAULTSORT:Luka, Rodion 1972 births Living people Ukrainian male sailors (sport) Sailors at the 1996 Summer Olympics – Laser Sailors at the 2000 Summer Olympics – 49er Sailors at the 2004 Summer Olympics – 49er Sailors at the 2008 Summer Olympics – 49er Olympic sailors of Ukraine Olympic silver medalists for Ukraine Olympic medalists in sailing Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics 49er class world champions Volvo Ocean Race sailors World champions in sailing for Ukraine