You're reading: Ukraine wins third place in European Games

The national team of Ukraine has won third place at the 2019 European Games held in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, from June 21 to June 30.

Ihor Zhdanov, minister of youth and sports of Ukraine, wrote on his Facebook page that the Ukrainian national team’s winning performance refutes the myth that sports are on the decline in the country. On the contrary, the victory prove the effectiveness of the ministry’s last five years of work, he said.

“We have witnessed the best performance of our team in the history of European Games!” Zhdanov’s wrote in the post.

According to the medal score, Russia ranked first, and Belarus took second. Italy and the Netherlands took fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The European Games is an international multi-sport competition, which is held every four years in different countries. It is governed by the European Olympic Committee and can be compared to the Asian Games or the Pan American Games.

Since 2015, each continent each continent has had a similar athletic competition. That year, Azerbaijan hosted the first European Games.

During this year’s European Games, nearly 4,000 athletes from 50 countries competed in 15 sports and 23 disciplines. It was the second time Ukraine has participated in the sporting event. During the first competition in Baku, Azerbaijan, the Ukrainian national team took eighth place and won 46 medals.

This year’s results were better, with Ukrainian athletes winning 16 gold medals, 17 silver medals and 18 bronze medals in boxing, karate, artistic gymnastics, athletics, wrestling, judo, cycling, the canoe sprint, sambo, shooting (rifle & pistol), trampoline gymnastics and rhythmic gymnastics.

Several star Ukrainian athletes, such as judo champion Daria Bilodid and Greco-Roman wrestling champion Zhan Beleniuk, represented Ukraine in Minsk. Eighteen-year-old Bilodid, who is a two-time European champion and the youngest world champion in history, won gold in the extra-lightweight category.

Olympic silver medalist, three-time European champion and world champion Beleniuk took first place in the men’s Greco-Roman competition. The athlete celebrated his victory by dancing the hopak, a traditional Ukrainian dance.

Ukrainian athlete Yana Kachur, who won a gold medal for her performance in the combined relay competition, says that the key to success is the ability to control one’s emotions at any moment.

“While running… I thought that I didn’t have a right to be upset,” Kachur told to the European Games. “Willpower, strength and patience – these are the three rules of a diligent athlete,” she added.

Zhdanov says that Ukraine’s Ministry of Youth and Sports will present Ukrainian gold medalists with  Hr 50,000 ($1,900). Silver and bronze medalists will be rewarded with Hr 40,000 ($1,500) and Hr 25,000 ($950), respectively.

Krakow, Poland has been confirmed as the host city of the next European Games in 2023.