Sports in Ukraine as in any other country throughout the World plays an important role in shaping the popular view of Ukraine and

Ukrainian Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

popular culture Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in ...

to its residents and the rest of the World. Sports in Ukraine while it is voluntary and spontaneous, it is regulated and standardized by the government and respected government agency as well as legislation. According to the Law of Ukraine "About physical culture and sports", sports is an activity of subjects of the sphere of physical culture and sport directed to identification and the unified comparison of achievements of people in physical, intellectual, and other preparation by holding sports competitions and preparation for them. The sport has such directions: children's sports, sports for children and young people, reserve sports, elite sports (sports of higher achievements), professional sports, sports of veterans of physical culture and sport, veterans of war, the Olympic sport, not Olympic sport, office and applied and military and applied sport, sports of persons with disability and so forth. Being dominated by Russia since the 18th century, sports in the bigger portion of Ukraine as the rest of popular culture in Ukraine has been overshadowed by

Russian culture Russian culture (russian: Культура России, Kul'tura Rossii) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and Western influence. Russian writers and phi ...

as its regional deviation. As part of

Ukrainian culture The culture of Ukraine is the composite of the material and spiritual values of the Ukrainian people that has formed throughout the history of Ukraine. It is closely intertwined with ethnic studies about ethnic Ukrainians and Ukrainian historio ...

, sports began its development in

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

and were influenced by various European

physical culture Physical culture, also known as Body culture, is a health and strength training movement that originated during the 19th century in Germany, the UK and the US. Origins The physical culture movement in the United States during the 19th century ...

movements such as pan-Germanic

Turners Turners (german: Turner) are members of German-American gymnastic clubs called Turnvereine. They promoted German culture, physical culture, and liberal politics. Turners, especially Francis Lieber, 1798–1872, were the leading sponsors of gy ...

, pan-Slavic

Sokol The Sokol movement (, ''falcon'') is an all-age gymnastics organization first founded in Prague in the Czech region of Austria-Hungary in 1862 by Miroslav Tyrš and Jindřich Fügner. It was based upon the principle of " a strong mind in a ...

, and others (such as all-Jewish

Maccabiah The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi- ...

sports). In the Russian Empire, the Ukrainian nation was never recognized and was criminally prosecuted, while the Little-Russian culture was allowed to exist only as

folk culture Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from ...

. Only after dissolution of the Soviet Union, in 1992 the Ukrainian anthem first sounded at

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

starting with the Olympic victory of Oleh Kucherenko and immediately followed by victories of Tetiana Hutsu and Oleksandra Tymoshenko. Football and

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

have been popular in Ukraine since the 19th century. Ukraine has benefited from the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

's emphasis on

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explora ...

, and Ukraine was left with hundreds of stadiums, swimming pools, gymnasiums, and other athletic facilities after the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

. Ukraine sports or athletic movements were influenced greatly by the Sokol gymnast organization that was popular in the

Central Europe Central Europe is an area of Europe between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, based on a common historical, social and cultural identity. The Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) between Catholicism and Protestantism significantly shaped the ...

since the second half of the 19th century. Sport in Ukraine is primarily governed by 40 federations of various Olympic sports that are all part of the

National Olympic Committee of Ukraine The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine ( uk, Нацiональний олiмпiйський комiтет України) is a non-profit all-Ukrainian public organization responsible for development, reinforcement, and protection of the Oly ...

(NOC Ukraine), which in its turn is part of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swis ...

(IOC). The mass sports movement is driven by four main sports societies (i.e. Dynamo – Ukraine) and two government sports committees of the Ministry of Education and the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( CSC AF Ukraine), all of which are also collective members of the National Olympic Committee. All non-Olympic sports are governed by their respective federations of the Sports Committee of Ukraine. Ukraine also has a strong paralympic team.

Football

Football is the most popular sport in Ukraine. Football in Ukraine is governed by the

Football Federation of Ukraine The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) ( uk, Українська асоціяція футболу, Ukrayins'ka Asotsiyatsiya Futbolu) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019 it was known as the Football Federation of Ukr ...

(FFU). FFU organizes various football competitions in the country among men, women, youth, handicapped, others as well as facilitates football competitions among professionals, students and in regions. Format of competitions varies from leagues (round robin) to cup-type (elimination) competitions. FFU also organizes several invitational tournaments (friendlies) in Ukraine and organizes several national teams that compete at various international tournaments. Ukraine has a well developed professional football competitions among men that Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union. Organization of professional football is delegated by FFU to the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

(UPL) and the

Professional Football League of Ukraine Professional Football League of Ukraine ( uk, Професіональна футбольна ліга України, translit=Profesionalna futbolna liha Ukrayiny; also known as PFL) is a sport organization and collective member of the Footb ...

(PFL, competitions in lower leagues). The strongest and highest-tier league is Premier League, which was also known as Vyshcha Liha (Top League, Higher League). The second-ranking league is Persha Liha (First League). The next league down is Druha Liha (Second League), which is divided into two groups, East(B) and West(A), according to their location. At the end of each season, the two lowest-ranking teams in the Vyscha Liha are relegated to the Persha Liha, while the two top teams of the Persha Liha are promoted to the Vyscha Liha. The two lowest-ranking Persha Liha teams are relegated to the Druha Liha, while the top two teams in the Druha Liha League are promoted to the Persha Liha. Teams receive three points if they win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Each team plays each other twice. Ukraine has also amateur level national football competitions which are governed by the

Ukrainian Football Amateur Association The Association of Amateur Football of Ukraine ( uk, Асоціація аматорського футболу України, AAFU) is a sports organization that administers national competitions of association football among amateur and childre ...

. Teams from all professional leagues participate in the

Ukrainian Cup The Ukrainian Cup ( uk, Кубок України) is an association football national knockout cup competition run by the Ukrainian Association of Football. The competition is conducted almost exclusively among professional clubs. Since the 2003� ...

. The winners of the Ukrainian Championship and the Ukrainian Cup will participate in the

Ukrainian Super Cup The Ukrainian Super Cup ( uk , Суперкубок України) is an association football game of the Ukrainian Premier League in traditional super cup format that acts as the grand-opening for every new football competition season in Ukrain ...

Andriy Shevchenko Andriy Mykolayovych Shevchenko, or Andrii Mykolaiovych Shevchenko ( uk, Андрій Миколайович Шевченко, ; born 29 September 1976) is a Ukrainian football manager, a former professional football player and a former politic ...

is the most recognizable among Ukrainian footballers, who is considered a national hero in Ukraine. Ukraine was the host to the

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

in 2012, together with

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. Following the annexation of Crimea by Russia in March 2014, all Crimean based football clubs were dissolved by the Russian occupation administration and most were reorganized as the Russian clubs. Some former Crimean clubs that competed in the Ukrainian competitions relocated to the continental Ukraine where they were reorganized anew.

Basketball

Besides football, a major sport in Ukraine is

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

. Ukrainian basketball players were among the decisive factors for the success of the USSR national basketball team, which dominated Europe for decades and at times dominated the global basketball scene as well. These players included most notably Alexander Belostenny, Anatoli Polivoda,

Vladimir Tkachenko Vladimir Pyotrovich Tkachenko (alternate spelling: Vladimir Tkatchenko) (russian: Владимир Петрович Ткаченко; born September 20, 1957 in Sochi, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union) is a retired Sovi ...

and

Alexander Anatolyevich Volkov Alexander Anatolevich Volkov (, russian: Александр Анатольевич Волков; born 29 March 1964), commonly known as Sasha Volkov, is a retired Soviet and Ukrainian professional basketball player. He was born in Omsk, Russian ...

and others. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, especially the Ukrainian club teams

BC Kyiv BC Kyiv ( uk, БК "Київ") was a Ukrainian professional basketball club based in Kyiv. The club's home court for Ukrainian domestic league matches was the Meridian Sports Complex, which has a seating capacity of 1,500. Large attendance games a ...

and

BC Azovmash MBK Mariupol ( uk, МБК «Маріуполь»") (former name: BK Azovmash)is a Ukrainian professional basketball club. It was founded in 1990 in the city of Mariupol in South-Eastern Ukraine. Mariupol was one of the strongest teams in Ukraine ...

gained international attention as they both reached the

FIBA EuroCup FIBA EuroChallenge (called the FIBA Europe League in 2003–05, and FIBA EuroCup in 2005–08) was the 3rd-tier level transnational men's professional continental club basketball competition in Europe, from 2003 to 2015. It was organized and run ...

finals in 2005 and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto ...

respectively. The

Ukraine national basketball team The Ukraine men's national basketball team ( uk, збірна України з баскетболу) represents Ukraine in international basketball competitions. They are controlled by the Basketball Federation of Ukraine. After Ukrainian ...

slowly but surely has made a name among elite competition in Europe. Its hopes are up for the

2015 European Basketball Championship EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...

on home soil. When in 2012, the country gained official confirmation to host the 2015 European Championship, basketball received major public boost in Ukraine. Host cities were to be

Dnipro Dnipro, previously called Dnipropetrovsk from 1926 until May 2016, is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper R ...

petrovsk,

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loc ...

Ivano-Frankivsk Ivano-Frankivsk ( uk, Іва́но-Франкі́вськ, translit=Iváno-Frankívśk ), formerly Stanyslaviv ( pl, Stanisławów ; german: Stanislau), is a city located in Western Ukraine. It is the administrative centre of Ivano-Frankivsk Obl ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in western Ukraine, and the seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is one of the main cultural centres of Ukra ...

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

and

Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.European Football Championship 2012. As Oleksandr Volkov, president of the

Ukrainian Basketball Federation The Basketball Federation of Ukraine ( uk, Федерація баскетболу України) also known as FBU is the governing body of basketball in Ukraine. It was founded and joined FIBA in 1992, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union ...

pointed out that the country's experience in hosting an event of such magnitude came through the mentioned football championships. This displays the readiness of Ukrainian infrastructure and had become a decisive factor for the selection of Ukraine. On February 9, 2012 the President of Ukraine,

Viktor Yanukovych Viktor Fedorovych Yanukovych ( uk, Віктор Федорович Янукович, ; ; born 9 July 1950) is a former politician who served as the fourth president of Ukraine from 2010 until he was removed from office in the Revolution of D ...

issued a decree that instructed the government to create a "Organizing Committee on preparation and holding in Ukraine Euro 2015 basketball Championship" (committee is headed by Prime Minister

Mykola Azarov Mykola Yanovych Azarov ( uk, Мико́ла Я́нович Аза́ров, ; né Pakhlo; Cyrillic: Пахло; born 17 December 1947) is a Ukrainian politician who was the Prime Minister of Ukraine from 11 March 2010 to 27 January 2014. He was t ...

). Many facilities necessary for the EuroBasket 2015 (roads, airports, hotels, etc.) have been built in preparation for the European Football Championship in 2012, which significantly reduced the expected cost of the basketball event. Unfortunately, due to the Ukrainian Revolution of 2013-2014, the FIBA Eurobasket event would end up being cancelled for Ukraine and instead would involve four different countries taking part for the first time ever. However, because of their situation, the committee has obligated Ukraine to placing a bid for

EuroBasket 2017 EuroBasket 2017 was the 40th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe and held between 31 August and 17 September 2017. Beginning from 2017, the continental championships take place every four years with a similar ...

instead. Ukraine hosted

2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship The 2013 FIBA Europe Under-16 Championship was the 27th edition of the European Under-16 Basketball Championship. 16 teams participated in the competition, which was held in Kyiv, Ukraine, from 8 to 18 August 2013. Turkey were the defending champi ...

. In general, the teams of the Ukrainian basketball league are strong enough to make it into the Eurocup basketball championship. The top Ukrainian League is called the

Ukrainian Basketball Super League The Ukrainian Basketball SuperLeague (USL) ( uk, Українська баскетбольна суперліга) is the first-tier level of professional basketball league in Ukraine. Established in 1992, the league is currently contested by 10 c ...

. The next top league is called the ''Vyscha Liha''. The next strongest league is called the ''Persha Liha''.

Bowling

Ukraine's All Ukrainian Bowling Federation includes 99 registered bowlers playing in 19 centers. Igor Kononenko serves as president of the Federation. The Ukrainian bowlers placed first in the 13th World Youth Bowling Championships.

Boxing

Ukraine is noted for producing some of the most skilled boxers in recent times, including brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitchsko, who, now retired, won multiple world titles throughout their career. The brothers dominated the heavyweight division in a period now affectionately referred to as the "Klitschko Era". Also hailing from the Ukraine,

Vasyl Lomachenko Vasyl Anatoliyovych Lomachenko ( uk, Василь Анатолійович Ломаченко, ; also spelled Vasiliy; born 17 February 1988) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in three weight classes f ...

, the

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing ...

and 2012 Olympic gold medalist who is widely regarded as one of the greatest amateur boxers of all time after compiling a record of 396–1. He currently ties the record for becoming a world champion in the fewest professional fights, winning the WBO

featherweight Featherweight is a weight class in the combat sports of boxing, kickboxing, mixed martial arts, and Greco-Roman wrestling. Boxing Professional boxing History A featherweight boxer weighs in at a limit of . In the early days of the division, this ...

title in his third fight. Another renowned Ukrainian is Lomachenko's friend and former amateur teammate,

Oleksandr Usyk Oleksandr Oleksandrovych Usyk ( uk, Олекса́ндр Олекса́ндрович У́сик; born 17 January 1987) is a Ukrainian professional boxer. He has held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the unified ...

. Himself a 2012 Olympic gold medalist, he became the first boxer in history to hold all four of the major world titles in the cruiserweight division—

WBA (Super) The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International B ...

, WBC, IBF, and WBO—simultaneously. On the 25th of September 2021, he beat Anthony Joshua by unanimous decision to win the

, IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles.

Ice hockey

Ukraine has an

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

league, the Professional Hockey League. Their most notable and historic team is

Sokil Kyiv Hockey Club Sokil Kyiv ( uk, ХК Сокіл Київ; en, Falcon Hockey Club), commonly known as Sokil Kyiv or HC Sokil, is a Ukrainian Professional Hockey League team based in Kyiv. While their home arena is located in the city, the team als ...

, where the highest level team in the country is

HC Donbass Hockey Club Donbass ( uk, Хокейний Клуб Донбас; russian: link=no, Хоккейный Клуб Донбасс, '' tr. Hokeinyi Klub Donbas'') is a Ukrainian professional ice hockey team based in Druzhkivka, currently playing in th ...

, which played in the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...

till the 2014-2015 season. Their national ice hockey team has competed in several World Championships and the Olympics.

Rugby League

European Sevens 2008, Ireland vs Ukraine, Oleg Kvasnitsa 2

The Ukrainian Federation of Rugby League joined the RLEF (Rugby League European Federation) in 2008 as an Official Observer. Its operations are concentrated in the east of the country, around the industrial cities of Kharkov and Donetsk. The first club, Legion XIII, was formed by students in 2007 and played in the Russian championship before the commencement of the four-team Ukrainian championship in 2009. In 2014, The Ukrainian Rugby League Federation (UFRL) has struck an agreement with the authorities to include specific rugby league content in the state's 45 sports schools. In what the UFRL describes as, “a major victory” for the sport, the move follows rugby league's official recognition by the government in 2012. The championship increased to six clubs in 2010, demonstrating the rapid rise of the sport in the country. In addition to the championship the UFRL runs the Ukrainian Cup and, since 2010, a youth competition. Internationally, UFRL has fielded a senior national side since 2008 but participated in official competition for the first time in 2009.

Rugby union

Rugby union arrived in Ukraine during the post-War Soviet period. Ukraine was not a stronghold of rugby in the USSR - the game was mainly played in Russia and Georgia, but it was stronger there, than in certain other republics. The game has experienced some growth in the post-independence period, particularly the 1990s, when former USSR team coach Igor Bokov helped run the game there. Ukrainian rugby has strong ties with the military, with the strongest side being the airforce Aviator Kyiv. Like many other minor rugby nations, the game tend to be centred on the capital, Kyiv. It is quite frequent for rugby in Ukraine to be played using a mixture of rugby union and rugby league rules.

Cricket

The

Ukrainian Cricket Association Ukrainian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Ukraine * Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe * Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine * Som ...

exists to promote the game of

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by st ...

in Ukraine. There are a lot of cricket clubs in Ukraine at this time: Kyiv Cricket Club, Kharkiv Cricket Club, Crimea Cricket Club, Vinnytsia Cricket Club, Ternopil Cricket Club, Donetsk Cricket Club, and Luhansk Cricket Club.

Artistic Gymnastics

In Ukraine artistic gymnastics is referred to as sports gymnastics.

Women

Ukraine has had several successful female gymnasts, including but not limited to: Lilia Podkopayeva, Tatyana Gutsu,

Larisa Latynina Larisa Semyonovna Latynina (russian: link=yes, Лариса Семёновна Латынина, née Diriy, Дирий; born 27 December 1934) is a former Soviet artistic gymnast. Between 1956 and 1964 she won 14 individual Olympic medals and ...

, Viktoria Karpenko, and more recently Anastasia Koval, Alina Kozich, and

Iryna Krasnianska Iryna Krasnianska ( uk, Ірина Василівна Краснянська, ), born on November 19, 1987, in Vologda, USSR is a World Champion Ukrainian gymnast from Cherkasy, Ukraine. She started gymnastics in 1992. Iryna is the daughte ...

. Ukraine sent a full team to the

2008 Beijing Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nat ...

, the team members were

Valentyna Holenkova Valentyna Holenkova (born 7 May 1992) is a Ukrainian gymnast. She participated in the 2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international ...

, Anastasia Koval, Alina Kozich,

, Dariya Zgoba, and

Maryna Proskurina Maryna Proskurina (born 12 August 1985) is a former Ukrainian female artistic gymnast who represented her nation at international competitions. She participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China, and the 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics ...

. As a team, they placed 11th in qualifications and did not qualify for the team final. Anastasia Koval and Dariya Zgoba both qualified for the uneven bars final, placing 5th and 8th, respectively. Ukrainian gymnasts enjoyed success at the 2009 European Championships in Milan, Italy. They qualified at least one gymnast to each of the apparatus finals, and garnered a gold and bronze medal in the finals. Notable accomplishments at the European Championships: *

Yana Demyanchuk Yana Vladimirovna Demyanchuk ( uk, Яна Дем'янчук, born 1993) is a Ukrainian artistic gymnast who won gold on the balance beam at the 2009 European Artistic Gymnastics Championships. Early life and training Demyanchuk started gymna ...

, 2009 European Championships Gold Medalist on Beam; also 12th place in the All-Around competition. *

Anna Kalashnyk Anna Kalashnyk (born 8 December 1992) is a Ukrainian artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationa ...

, 2009 European Championships Bronze Medalist on Vault

Men

Oleksandr Vorobiov enjoyed success at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics, becoming the bronze medalist on the still rings. Recently the male gymnasts of Ukraine have enjoyed success at the 2009 European Championships and the 2012 Olympics: * Oleksandr Vorobiov, 2009 European Championships Silver Medalist on Still Rings *

Mykola Kuksenkov Nikolai Yulievich Kuksenkov (russian: Николай Юльевич Куксенков, uk, Микола Юлійович Куксенков; born 2 June 1989) is a retired Russian gymnast who won a silver medal in the team event at the 2016 S ...

, 2009 European Championships Bronze Medalist on High Bar * Igor Radivilov, 2012 London Summer Olympics Bronze Medalist on Vault

Rhythmic Gymnastics

In Ukraine rhythmic gymnastics is referred to as artistic gymnastics.

Rhythmic gymnastics Rhythmic gymnastics is a sport in which gymnasts perform on a floor with an apparatus: hoop (rhythmic gymnastics), hoop, ball (rhythmic gymnastics), ball, Clubs (rhythmic gymnastics), clubs, ribbon (rhythmic gymnastics), ribbon. The sport combi ...

is considered one of the most popular sports ever in Ukraine. Many Ukrainian rhythmic gymnasts such as Ludmila Savinkova, Liubov Sereda,

Alina Maksymenko Alina Oleksandrivna Maksymenko ( ua, Аліна Олександрівна Максименко, born 10 July 1991) is a retired individual rhythmic gymnast. Career In 2008, Maksymenko participated as a member of the Ukrainian Group at the 20 ...

Anna Bessonova Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova ( uk, Ганна Володимирівна Безсонова/Ganna Volodymyrivna Bessonova; born 29 July 1984) is a Ukrainian former individual rhythmic gymnast. She is one of the most decorated rhythmic gymnast of ...

Tamara Yerofeeva Tamara Anatoliyivna Yerofeyeva ( uk, Тамара Анатоліївна Єрофеєва, russian: Тамара Анатольевна Ерофеева; born 4 March 1982)Irina Deriugina,

Eleonora Romanova Eleonora Alekseevna Romanova (russian: Элеоно́ра Алексе́евна Рома́нова; ua, Елеонора Олексіївна Романова, born 17 August 1998) is a Russian (since September 2016) and former Ukrainian indivi ...

, Oxana Skaldina, Natalia Godunko,

Olena Vitrychenko Olena Ihorivna Vitrychenko ( uk, Олена Ігорівна Вітриченко, russian: Елена Игоревна Витриченко; born 25 November 1976), also known as Elena Vitrichenko, is an Individual Ukrainian Rhythmic Gymnast. S ...

, Ekaterina Serebrianskaya and Olexandra Tymoshenko are among the top rhythmic gymnasts in the world. There are many clubs all over Ukraine. The most famous and strongest rhythmic gymnast training school in Ukraine is the Deriugins School in Kyiv, run by Albina Deriugina and her daughter Irina Deriugina.

Bandy

The national team made its first

Bandy World Championship The Bandy World Championship is a competition between bandy-playing nations' men's teams. The tournament is administrated by the Federation of International Bandy. It is distinct from the Bandy World Cup, a club competition, and from the W ...

in 2013. At the 2016 tournament, Ukraine reached the semi-final of Division B. In terms of licensed athletes,

bandy Bandy is a winter sport and ball sport played by two teams wearing ice skates on a large ice surface (either indoors or outdoors) while using sticks to direct a ball into the opposing team's goal. The international governing body for bandy is ...

is the second biggest winter sport in the world.

Beach volleyball

Ukraine featured national teams in beach volleyball that competed in the women's and men's section at the

2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup The 2018–2020 CEV Beach Volleyball Continental Cup were a beach volleyball double-gender event. Teams representing European countries were split into groups of four, where an elimination bracket determined the two teams to advance to the next stag ...

Olympic movement

Ukraine is a regular participant in both

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The ina ...

and

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'hiver) is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were h ...

, and is successful on the international arena. The country's top achievement at the Olympics to date was at the 1996 Summer Olympics, when they came 9th. At the 1996 Summer Olympics, Ukrainian gymnast Lilia Podkopayeva won the All-Around title in the Women's Gymnastics competition. Ukrainian swimmer Yana Klochkova is the best Olympian holding a record of 4 gold medals. The only individual gold medal in winter sports is held by a

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are m ...

Oksana Baiul. In team sports, Ukraine received three gold medals in rowing, fencing and biathlon all by female teams. The most successful sports for Ukraine at the Olympics are gymnastics, boxing, shooting.

Sports institutions and sports centers

Government

* Ministry of Youth and Sports, formerly known as a government committee of youth and sports.

General public

is an official organization that provides public administration of all

Olympic sports Olympic sports are contested in the Summer Olympic Games and Winter Olympic Games. The 2020 Summer Olympics included 33 sports; the 2022 Winter Olympics included seven sports. Each Olympic sport is represented by an international governing b ...

in the country and official member of the

* Sports Committee of Ukraine, is an official organization that provides public administration of other sports in the country

Sports clubs

Ukraine has six government sponsored sports and fitness clubs which are part of the national Olympic movement cooperating with the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and government institutions:

Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Central Sports Club of the Armed Forces of Ukraine ( uk, Центральний Спортивний Клуб Збройних Сил України, transliteration: ''Tsentralnyi Sportyvnyi Klub Zbroinykh Syl Ukrayiny'') or CSK ZSU ( uk, ЦСК ...

(CSK ZSU), Dynamo – Ukraine (law enforcement agencies), Spartak – Ukraine,

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...

(formerly Avanhard, trade unions), Kolos (agricultural sports association), and Osvita (Ministry of Education and Science). All of them have their representation in all regions of Ukraine providing their facilities and training to athletes. Among notable historic national sports club there were Sokil, Sich, Ukraine. Ukrainian Sokil gymnastic society was an adaptation of the original Czech Sokil society which earned popularity among most of Slavic nations. Ukrainian Sokil society was popular among Ukrainians of the Austrian part as well as the bigger Russian part of Ukraine. Other important sport society was Sich which contributed to establishment of the Legion of

Ukrainian Sich Riflemen Legion of Ukrainian Sich Riflemen (german: Ukrainische Sitschower Schützen; uk, Українські cічові стрільці (УСС), translit=Ukraïnski sichovi stril’tsi (USS)) was a Ukrainian unit within the Austro-Hungarian Army du ...

. In the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 1918 and 1939. The state was established on 6 November 1918, before the end of the First World ...

, Sich sports society was recognized as Polonophobic and was prohibited, among notable examples is renaming of USC Sich Stryi into Skala Stryi.

Sports federations/associations

There are over 40 official sports federations or associations for most of the

. There are also other sports federations or sports unions in the country.

Sports education

Aside from sports curriculum in regular schools, Ukraine inherited from the Soviet Union an extensive network of youth sports schools, including specialized schools of the Olympic reserve, and school of sports mastery. As of 2011 there were some 1483 sports schools (DYuSSh), 189 specialized

ports A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

schools of Olympic reserve (SDYuShOR and UOR), and 34 school of higher sports mastery (ShVSM). There are also two sports universities the

National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine National University of Ukraine on Physical Education and Sport is a Ukrainian university in Kyiv. History The university opened in 1930 as the National Institute of Physical Education of Ukraine in Kharkiv. In 1944 the institute was transferred ...

(Kyiv),

Lviv State University of Physical Culture Lviv State University of Physical Culture ( uk, Львівський державний університет фізичної культури) is a university specializing in sports education and located in Lviv, Ukraine. History Lviv State U ...

and

Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture Kharkiv State Academy of Physical Culture is a Ukrainian Academy of University level in Kharkiv. History The university opened in 1930 as the National Institute of Physical Education of Ukraine in Kharkiv. Between 1930-1944 was renamed to the Nat ...

. Beside that in Ukraine located 9 colleges of physical education, 3 schools of Olympic reserve and 6 sports boarding schools.

The modern Ukrainian sportspeople

(born in 1976) - football player, five-time champion of Ukraine, winner of the "Golden Ball" 2004, the best player of Champions League 1998/1999, the winner of the UEFA Champions League 2002/2003. Active player Kyiv "Dynamo", the club of his career start in the 1990s. Also competed for "Milan" and "Chelsea". Known by the nickname "The Devil from the East" and "Sheva". As a part of the Ukrainian team he played in 2006 World Cup in Germany, where his team made it into the quarter finals (this is a starting world championship for Ukrainians). * Yana Klochkova (born in 1982) - a swimmer, four-time Olympic champion, eleven-time European champion, winner of several World Cups. At the Olympics she won the swimming distances of 200, 400 and 800 meters. Yana holds the world and Olympic records in the 400 meters complex style (4 min. 33.59 sec.). Known by the nickname "Goldfish". *

Ruslan Ponomariov Ruslan Olehovych Ponomariov ( uk, Русла́н Оле́гович Пономарьо́в; born 11 October 1983) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. He was FIDE World Chess Champion from 2002 to 2004. He won the Ukrainian Chess Championship i ...

(born in 1983) - chess, 17th World Champion FIDE world champion in the age category under 18. In 1998, at the age of 14, he became the youngest grandmaster in the world. * Kateryna Lagno (born in 1989) - a chess player, the youngest grandmaster among women (received the title at the age of 12). * Klitschko brothers, boxers: Wladimir (born in 1976); 1996 Olympic champion;

, IBF, WBO, IBO, and '' The Ring''

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

champion. Vitali (born in 1971); WBC, and ''The Ring'' heavyweight champion. * Vladislav Terzyul (1953-2004) - a climber who climbed all 14 mountains higher than Earth's 8000 meters, repeating the record of Reinhold Messner. *

(born in 1984) - rhythmic gymnast, absolute world champion in 2007. * Ivan Heshko (born August 19, 1979) - middle-distance track athlete, world champion in 1,500 meters distance. *

Mykola Milchev Mykola Mykolayovych Milchev ( ua, Микола Миколайович Мільчев, born 3 November 1967) is a Ukrainian sport shooter. He is the 2000 Olympic champion in skeet shooting.Vadim Garbuzov (born May 8, 1987) - dancer, two-time champion of Dancing with the Stars in 2012 and 2014 in Vienna. *

(born In 1988) - boxer,

and 2012 Olympic champion; three-weight world champion. *

Nikita Krylov Nikita Andreyevich Krylov (born March 7, 1992) is a Ukrainian-Russian mixed martial artist who competes in the light heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional since 2012, he has also competed for M-1 Global. As ...

(born March 7, 1992) - mixed martial artist fighting in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). *

Igor Vovchanchyn Igor Yaroslavovych Vovchanchyn (, uk, Ігор Ярославович Вовчанчин; born August 6, 1973) is a retired Ukrainian mixed martial artist and kickboxer, who competed in early no holds barred MMA contests. After making his profess ...

(born August 6, 1973) - mixed martial artist and former contender in the Pride Fighting Championships. *

(born January 17, 1987) - boxer, 2012 Olympic champion; undisputed champion at

cruiserweight Cruiserweight is a term associated with: *Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight * Cruiserweight (MMA), a weight class in mixed martial arts with an upper weight limit at . *Cruiserweight (profess ...

References

{{Sport in Ukraine