Author: Ihor Stelmach

Katie Volynets’ upset of ninth-seeded Veronika Kudermetova (6-4, 2-6, 6-2) in the round of 64 at the 2023 Australian Open on January 18-29 in Melbourne, Australia, was described as “stunning.” It was particularly sweet for her family back in Ukraine, who are extremely proud of her victories while surviving the daily perils of an ongoing...

Igor Klymenko was nine years old when Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014. Despite his young age, the youngster felt a burning desire to help his country, and he got interested in the global landmine crisis. Unexploded land mines continue to pose risks to people in areas that once were war zones. According to research...

Hockey team finishes with two wins in Lake Placid, N.Y. If medals were given out for perseverance, Team Ukraine would certainly have enjoyed a podium sweep of gold, silver and bronze medals simply for traveling to and competing in the 2023 World University Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., from January 12-22. The country’s 57 athletes...

When a glove is needed to field a hard-hit grounder or a ball is required to shoot through a hoop, Wilson has historically been an apparent choice. In recent years, the sporting goods manufacturer has enlarged its product assortment to include technical apparel and footwear. The company is also looking to get into the sports...

On January 12, the Ukrainian Football Association (UAF) decided not to renew the contract of Ukraine’s national team head coach, Oleksandr Petrakov, and his entire coaching staff. In its official statement, the UAF expressed its sincere gratitude to Petrakov and his staff “for their professionalism and unforgettable victories as the head coach of the national...

The 2023 World University Games kicked off on January 12 as a huge crowd of spectators erupted with a loud ovation at the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena when 58 athletes from Ukraine entered the arena during the Games’ opening ceremony. The Ukrainian athletes and onlookers waved to each other and smiled widely as most fans...

Ukraine’s U-25 national hockey team wrapped up its four game fundraising Hockey Can’t Stop Tour with a 5-1 win over the University of Manitoba Bisons. The game was played on the home ice of the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Winnipeg Jets. Following games played at university facilities in Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton, all losses, this...

On January 3, Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba invited International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach and other sports dignitaries to tour the city of Druzhkivka in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, and personally inspect the devastating consequences of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s sports infrastructure. On Instagram, Kuleba wrote: “I invite all sports officials who seek to...

Over 1,700 hockey fans, many of them displaced Ukrainian refugees who fled their war-torn nation for Calgary, Canada, made their way to Father David Bauer Arena on January 2 to cheer on Team Ukraine against the University of Calgary Dinos in the second game of the Hockey Can’t Stop Tour. The crowd included many Ukrainian...

For elite Ukrainian athletes, sports have become desirable distractions from the daily destruction going on in their homeland. Four western Canadian universities are giving the Ukrainian national hockey team an opportunity to get ready for an upcoming tournament in 2023 and with it a chance to temporarily focus their energies on sport. Ukrainian goaltender Savva...

Back in November 1993, four hockey players from the Druzhba ’78 Ukrainian youth ice hockey team from Kharkiv got together to admire Wayne Gretzky’s statue outside of what was then known as Rexall Place in Edmonton. Along with the players, who were barnstorming through Canada at the time, was their coach Ivan Pravilov, who was...

Amid reports of possible attempts to replace the president of the Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) Andriy Pavelko after his November arrest for allegedly misusing international aid funds, UAF Vice-President Oleg Protasov has urged fellow members of Ukraine’s soccer board to not pursue such an action. Several reports mentioned Ukraine’s best ever football star and...