Украина / Ukraine

Ukraine were first represented in their own right at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Olympic Games.

Skater Oksana BAIUL was the first to win gold in Ukrainian colours.

At the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Games, Sergey BUBKA carried the national flag. He had won Olympic gold in 1988 competing for the Soviet Union.

Medley swimmer Yana KLOCHKOVA has proved Ukraine's most successful Olympic competitor of the 21st century. She won both individual medleys at the Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 Olympic Games for a personal haul of four gold medals. She carried the flag for the Ukrainian team at Beijing 2008.

Ukraine's team of 243 in Beijing was their biggest ever. They won gold in the women's team sabre.

Other gold medallists at the Beijing Games were: canoeist Inna OSYPENKO-RADOMSKA; Viktor RUBAN in the men's archery; Artur AIVAZIAN in the men's small bore rifle prone position; Oleksandr PETRI in the men's rapid fire pistol; Natalia DOBRYNSKA in the heptathlon; and boxer Vasyl LOMACHENKO in the men's featherweights.

Ukrainians competed under Soviet colours from 1952-1988 with great success. Vladimir KUTS did the double of 5,000m and 10,000m at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games and is acknowledged as one of the greatest Olympic athletes of all time.

 Gymnast Larissa LATYNINA remains the most successful Ukrainian Olympian. From 1956-1964 she won nine gold medals representing the Soviet Union and added five silver medals and four bronze to give her a total of 18, the most by any individual from any country.

Sisters Tamara and Irina PRESS were dominant forces in women's athletics in the early 1960s. Tamara won three gold medals in the throws and Irina won gold in 80m hurdles (1960) and pentathlon (1964).

At the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, sprinter Valeri BORZOV became the first man to do the 100m/200m double since Jesse OWENS (USA) in 1936. He also took silver in the 4x100m relay and added two bronze medals at the Montreal 1976 Games.

 Ukraine-born Fanny “Bobby” ROSENFELD was a member of Canada's 4x100m women's relay gold medal squad at the Amsterdam 1928 Olympic Games.