Five iconic Ukrainian athletes you need to know
As the 2024 Olympic Games are approaching, Ukraine looks forward to showcasing its excellence and resilience at the competition. Since the start of Russia's full-scale war in 2022, Ukrainian sports have suffered unimaginable losses: Ukrainian athletes killed, stadiums destroyed, and training practices disrupted by constant air raid alarms and attacks.
Despite challenges, 100 defiant Ukrainian athletes will compete in Paris this summer under the slogan "The Will to Win." While they finish up months of preparation to represent Ukraine with dignity and confidently reach new athletic heights, we will recall the legendary stars of Ukrainian sports who have promoted their country on the global stage as the homeland of talent.
1. Olha Kharlan, fencing
Ukrainian athletes: fencing champion Olha Kharlan put up the Barbie doll in her likeness for an auction and raised $10,000 for the rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers. Photo: kharlanka/Baranovdmitriy
Ukrainian saber fencer Olha Kharlan was just 17 years old when she first competed in the Olympic Games in the Chinese capital, Beijing, in 2008 and helped her team secure the gold. Since then, she has participated in the Olympics three more times in London, Rio, and Tokyo, winning medals in each team or individual contest: two bronze and one silver.
Besides being a four-time Olympic medalist, Olha Kharlan is also a world and European fencing champion, inducted into the International Fencing Federation Hall of Fame. The Ukrainian fencer has been dubbed number one in the women's saber world ranking for five years and qualified to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Olha showed herself as a talented athlete and a decent person with a strong position when she defeated a Russian fencer at the 2023 World Fencing Championships in Milan. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, she refused to shake hands with the opponent, instead offering her saber to tap blades. Even though the Russian athlete rejected her offer and stubbornly worked to kick out the Ukrainian fencer from the championship, Olha was restored and qualified for the Summer Olympics, where we are sure she will represent Ukraine with grace.
2. Andriy Shevchenko, football
Ukrainian athletes: Andriy Shevchenko received the Ballon d'Or in 2004. Photo: ua-football.com
Throughout his prosperous career, the legend of Ukrainian football, Andriy Shevchenko, played as a striker in his native club, Dynamo Kyiv, and renowned teams like AC Milan and Chelsea, receiving multiple accolades and international fame. As part of the national Ukrainian team, he scored 48 goals — the most of all the players in Ukraine ever — and has been considered Ukraine's greatest footballer.
During his time in Milan, Andriy became the club's second-highest all-time goalscorer, striking 175 goals in 296 games. When FIFA celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2004, the Ukrainian was included in the top 100 list of the greatest living football players. He was also awarded the prestigious Ballon d'Or, or the Golden Ball, given to the best footballer of the year.
After retiring from football and having a very brief political career, Shevchenko eventually became the head coach of Ukraine's national team, leading his country to its first-ever quarter-finals at UEFA Euro 2020. While he continues coaching in Italy, Andriy Shevchenko is an ambassador for UNITED24, a fundraising platform rallying support for Ukraine as the country fights against the Russian invasion.
3. Elina Svitolina, tennis
Ukrainian athletes: the tennis player at 2023 Wimbledon. Photo: Rob Prange
Elina Svitolina, the most successful player in Ukrainian tennis, has reached many national and international highs, like bringing the first Olympic medal in tennis to Ukraine and receiving the title of the third racket in singles in the world ranking compiled by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA). Throughout her career, she secured titles in prestigious international tournaments, like the WTA Tour, the Italian Open, and the Canadian Open. 2019 is Svitolina's best year, as she reached two semifinals at Wimbledon and the US Open.
When Russia unleashed its large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Svitolina insisted that Russian and Belarusian athletes should not represent their countries and be neutral while the war was ongoing. She also refused to shake hands with such tennis players after matches. Her strong position was heard and heeded.
Like Andriy Shevchenko, Elina Svitolina also became UNITED24's ambassador and collaborated with the famous footballer to launch the Ukraine House program to raise funding for Ukraine's reconstruction. Together with Polish tennis players Iga Świątek and Agnieszka Radwańska, she also raised over €400,000 at the exhibition in Krakow, Poland, for UNICEF Polska and UNITED24.
4. Klychko Brothers, boxing
Ukrainian athletes. From left to right: Volodymyr and Vitalii with all heavyweight belts. Photo: WikiCommons
The Klychko Brothers dominated the world of international boxing between 2004 and 2015, the period known today as "The Klychko Era." Volodymyr, a.k.a. Dr. Steelhammer, is considered one of the greatest heavyweight champions of all time, having secured WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring titles and 64 wins. Vitalii, the older brother nicknamed Dr. Ironfist, is also a former WBC, WBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion, having won 45 fights. Together, they were inducted into the Guinness World Records in 2011 as brothers with the most wins of world heavyweight titles.
During successful years of increasing boxing's popularity worldwide, both brothers were engaged in philanthropy through the Klitschko Foundation, supporting young Ukrainian athletes and children's education. They have also supported the Ukrainian armed forces since the 2014 Russian war in Ukraine's east. Vitalii transitioned to politics and has been the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, since 2014. Volodymyr initiated #WeAreAllUkrainians, a non-profit, as a response to the Russian large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 to support vulnerable Ukrainians.
5. Lilia Podkopaiva, artistic gymnastics
Ukrainian athletes: Lilia Podkopaieva with her Olympic medals. Photo: Instagram/podkopayeva_official
Lilia Podkopaieva is a successful Ukrainian athlete who changed the world of artistic gymnastics during her career in the 1990s. At age 18, she represented Ukraine at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, winning an all-around gold medal, a gold medal in the floor exercise, and a silver medal in the balance beam. Lilia impressed the judges with such spectacular skill and a high level of difficulty, precision, and execution that she set a new standard in technical excellence in women's gymnastics.
Besides influencing the judging criteria and expectations for future gymnasts, Lilia won 45 gold, 21 silver, and 14 bronze medals at different championships. She is also known for her signature move — a highly difficult double front somersault with a half-twist, dubbed "The Podkopaieva Move." Since Lilia retired, she has trained and served as a role model for young athletes in Ukraine and worldwide, including through her Golden Lilia International Sports Festival. Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lilia has raised awareness of the damage Russia has done to Ukrainian sports and urged the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Paris Games.
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