The Fencing Championship of Ukraine started at Kyiv’s Koncha Zaspa Olympic Sports Training Center on April 14. As reported by the official website of the National Fencing Federation of Ukraine, the tournament was opened by saber fencing events for men and women. Naturally, 2015’s first titles were won by leaders of the all-Ukrainian classification, the incumbent world champion Olha Kharlan (Mykolaiv) and Andrii Yahodka (Odesa). However, the national championship was not a cakewalk for them. For instance, the finals saw Kharlan defeating Alina Komashchuk from Khmelnytsky by just one hit (15-14), while Yahodka won with the same score his bout against Dmytro Boiko (Khmelnytsky and Mykolaiv). The bronze medals in the women’s saber event went to Olha Zhovnir (Kyiv and Khmelnytsky) and Olena Voronina (Kyiv). The men’s saber competition saw Oleksii Statsenko (Kyiv) and Yurii Tsap (Mykolaiv) standing on the third step of the podium.
“Kharlan is by far the strongest fencer in the world at the moment, leading the world rankings. She won the World and European Championships in 2014 and has had a great start to 2015 as well. We cannot help but be happy about it. The National Olympic Committee presented her with the Best Athlete of the Year award, and she also received the title of the Sports Person of the Year. Still, it is too early to relax, because this year is the eve of the Olympic Games,” the athlete’s coach Artem Skorokhod noted in his comment for The Day. “Therefore, I would like Kharlan to stay on her level. She has a very strong character, which men may well envy. Before entering a bout, she designs its scheme beforehand, studies her opponents, putting as much effort in preparation for the international events as she does with the domestic championship. Speaking about her extra motivation for international events, the situation in the country is motivation enough in itself. She has patriotism in her blood, and so seeks to win especially now, to see our flag rising in Russia (as it did last year) and other countries. Yahodka won the men’s saber championship. He outfought Boiko in a tense standoff, the latter being Kharlan’s husband, by the way.”
