Урок 11. Олімпійські ігри. Відомі спортсмени України.

UKRAINIAN FAMOUS SPORTSMEN

Think about:

1) Do you know many Ukrainian famous sportsmen?

2) What sports do the represent? Why are they famous all over the world?

Read some information from the Internet page about sport in Ukraine and say if people in our country have got many opportunities to keep active with sport. Can we be proud of our sports achievements?

SPORTS IN UKRAINE, SPORTING NATION

When it comes to sport, most Ukrainians are very serious. Especially when you mention soccer and the Olympic Games. When driving through the streets of Ukraine you will see many youngsters playing especially soccer and rugby, most of them play with the goal to join one of the Ukrainian clubs or teams one day.

Ukraine has made a big name for itself so far on soccer levels. In fact, Ukraine’s soccer is so impressive that they have even been the first soccer team that qualified for the 2006 World Cup Finals in Germany.

Ukraine usually also does very well at the summer Olympic Games. At the 2008 summer Olympic games, Ukraine managed to get a marvelous total of 27 me­dals. They managed to get 7 gold medals, 5 silver medals and 15 bronze medals.

For the more adventurous people living in Ukraine their lies many op­portunities waiting on weekends and in free time. Sports and activities such as diving, snow skiing, mountain climbing, mountain biking, swimming, trekking and horse riding is becoming more and more popular by the day.

Sports such as football and arm wrestling have been popular in Ukraine since the 19th century, when strongman Ukrainian wrestler Ivan Piddubny was a real legend throughout Europe. Legends of the 20th century include such names as pole vault champion Sergey Bubka (35 world records), and foot­ballers like Oleg Blohin, twice European Footballer of the Year. Ukrainian gymnasts like Larisa Latynina and Iryna Deryugina both took a haul of Olym­pic medals in their time. Latynina won 9 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals! Altogether Ukrainian sportsmen have won over 400 Olympic medals so far.

Today Ukraine gives the international sports scene such names as box­ers Vitaly and Vladimir Klichko, track and field athlete Zhanna Pintusevich, tennis player Andriy Medvedev, wimmer Yana Klochkova, gymnast Anna Bezsonova, and footballer Andriy Shevchenko, who is considered something of a national hero in Ukraine.

What do you need to be a winner?

Look through the phrases below. Add to this list your own ideas.

It is important…

I think one of the most important things is.

• to be confident
• to be at one’s best in all situations
• to be an active participant
• to do morning exercises
• to train hard

Read some information about the most famous Ukrainian sportsmen and discuss what lead them to success.

ANDRIY SHEVCHENKO

Date of birth: 29 September 1976 (Dvirkivshchyna, Kyivska oblast, Ukrainian SSR).

Andriy Shevchenko is a Ukrainian footballer who plays for Dynamo Kyiv and the Ukraine national team as a striker. He is the third-highest scorer in the history of European club competition with 63 goals. The most prestigious of Andriy’s awards were the Golden Ball and the UEFA Cham­pions League in 2003 with Milan.

KLITSCHKO BROTHERS

Dates of birth: Vladimir — 25 March 1976 (Semipalatinsk, Kazakh SSR), Vitali — 19 July 1971 (Belovodsk, Kirghiz SSR) in family of Ukrainians.

Vitali Klitschko, older brother, is the current WBC world heavyweight champion. He has the highest knockout percentage (95%) of any heavy­weight boxing champion in overall fights and has never been knocked out or knocked down in any professional boxing bout. His younger brother, Vladimir Klitschko, is a Ukrainian heavyweight boxer.

LILIYA PODKOPAYEVA

Date of birth: 15 August 1978 (Donetsk, Ukrainian SSR).

Liliya Podkopayeva is the 1996 Olympic all-around champion. She is widely regarded as one of the best gymnasts in history. She is the proud owner of 45 gold, 21 silver and 14 bronze medals.

ANNA BESSONOVA

Date of birth: 29 July 1984 (Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR).

Anna Bessonova is the number one rhythmic gymnast in Ukraine. She won the bronze individual all around medals at the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Olympics. Over the course of her career she has won 24 World Championship medals, 2 Olympic medals, 24 European Championship med­als and 10 World Cup medals (60 in total).

SERGEY BUBKA

Date of birth: 4 December 1963 (Lugansk, Ukrainian SSR).

Serhiy Bubka is six times world champion (between 1983 and 1997), European champion in 1986 and Olympic champion in 1988. He broke the world record for men’s pole vaulting 35 times. He was the first to clear 6.0 metres and the first and only to clear 6.10 metres (20 ft). He holds the current outdoor world record of 6.14 metres in 1994 in Italy and the cur­rent indoor world record of 6.15 meters, set in 1993 in Donetsk, Ukraine.

YANA KLOCHKOVA

Date of birth: 7 August 1982 (Simferopol, Crimea, Ukrainian SSR). Yana Klochkova is a Ukrainian swimmer, who has won five Olympic medals. 4 gold medals came in the 200 meter individual medley and the 400 meter individual medley at the 2000 and 2004 Summer Olympics. Her silver medal came in the 800 meter freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics.

VASYL VIRASTYUK

Date of birth: 22 April 1974 (Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukrainian SSR).

Vasyl Virastyuk is a strongman competitor from Ukraine. He competed in the finals of the World’s Strongest Man contest in 2003 (3rd place) and 2004 (1st place). As well he won the 2007 IFSA Strongman World Championship.

What is the most popular sport in your country?

Homework

Look for some information and write a short paragraph about a Ukrain­ian famous sportsman.