On July 27, when the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games is held, 245 Ukrainian athletes will start competing for medals in 28 events.
The first ones to shoot are Ukrainian archers, who will contend in individual competitions. Among them is Viktor Ruban, a gold winner at the 2008 Beijing games and a bronze medalist at Athens in 2004.
Serhiy Bubka, president of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, has high hopes for medals in London but superstitiously never predicts how many. “I want to have luck coming to our side,” Bubka says.
Kyiv has its place in Olympics history as the venue for soccer during the 1980 Moscow Games.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych is likely to attend the London Games.
By Aug. 12, when the XXX Olympiad is over, Ukraine is expected to add to its total of 96 medals in four Summer Games, including 28 gold medals – six of which were won by gymnasts.
Here’s the medal totals:
Here are some of Ukraine’s glories:
In Ukraine, state-run First National TV channel will broadcast the London Games. The opening ceremony will start at 9 p.m. (11 p.m. Kyiv time). Ukraine marches between Uganda and United Arab Emirates in the ceremonies.
Kyiv Post staff writer Denys Rafalsky can be reached at [email protected]