Artistic Gymnastics, Ukraine Cup 2001, Gymmedia report

Alexander Svetlichni

Valeri Goncharov has retired due to back problems and is hoping for a career in the Cirque du Soleil in Canada. With all of his Olympic team mates out of the way in the all around, veteran Alexander Svetlichni easily took the gold, over two points ahead of Denis Kucher. On his way to the title, Svetlichni scored an 8.3 on floor, 9.2 on pommel horse, 9.3 on rings, 9.6 on vault (Roche), 8.8 on bars and 8.9 on high bar. The Lugansk native then added two more titles in event finals. European AA and high bar champion Alexander Beresh won floor and pommel horse, leaving high bar to Yevgeni Bogonosyuk of Kiev, last year's junior European floor champion.

The women's competition also suffered some losses:
Viktoria Karpenko is not yet in competitive form and upcoming stars Irina Yarotskaya and Natalia Serobaba were sidelined with back problems and a sore elbow, respectively. Two time Olympian Olga Teslenko is rehabbing after wrist surgery but hopes to continue competing, according to new Ukrainian head coach Viktor Lutoyenko. Galina Tyryk is also recovering from an operation, but is hoping to audition for Cirque du Soleil.

Tatyana Yarosh posted an 8.685 on vault, 9.3 on bars, 8.367 on a beam and 9.334 on floor en route to the AA gold, a title she had already won in 1999. The 16-year-old from Kirovograd debuted a 3 1/2 twist on floor. Due to her shaky performance in the preliminary competition, Yarosh only qualified to the beam final. Experienced Olga Roshchupkina suffered a fall from bars in the all around to finish sixth, but got her revenge in the finals where she won a gold and a silver. Spectators lauded young Alina Kozich (born 1987), third all around and double gold medallist in the finals, for her work, which includes a front layout to double front on floor.
On hand to watch the competition was Oleg Ostapenko, former head coach of the Ukrainian women's team and now bound for Brazil. Ostapenko's former pupil Viktoria Karpenko intends to continue her career under the guidance of a new coach, Nadezhda Koryagina. Koryagina is mentor to 2000 Olympian Alyona Kvasha as well as 1998 and 2000 Junior Europeans competitor Natalia Serobaba.

Report: Nora Schuler
(Results courtesy of Svetlana Nakonechnaya/"Komanda", Kiev)

Tatiana Yarosh

1. Dinamo                      160,000
2. Ukraina                      146,100
3. Vooruzhennye Sily    145,000

1. Alexander Svetlichni              Lugansk          Dinamo            54,100
2. Denis Kucher                        Donetsk          VS                   52,000
3. Andrei Mikhailichenko            Zaporozhye     Dinamo            49,600
4. Sergei Vyaltsev                     Kherson          Dinamo            49,100
5. Vadim Kuvakin                      Kherson          Dinamo            48,500
6. Maxim Buryak                      Lugansk          Ukraina            48,400

1. Alexander Beresh     9,400                1. Alexander Beresh       9,650
2. Andrei Lipski            9,050                2. Dmitri Podobri            9,175
3. Yegor Kirik               8,675               3. Alexander Svetlichni    9,150

1. Sergei Vyaltsev         9,200               1. Alexander Svetlichni   9,055
2. Alexander Svetlichni 9,175               2. Andrei Mikhailichenko 8,875
3. Vadim Kuvakin          8,575               3. Yevgeni Bogonosyuk   8,850

1. Alexander Svetlichni   8,825               1. Yevgeni Bogonosyuk   9,125
2. Vadim Kuvakin           8,350               2. Alexander Svetlichni    9,075
3. Andrei Lipski              8,150              3. Andrei Lipski                8,800

1. Ukraina                     104,327
2. Vooruzhennye Sily    104,327
3. Dinamo                      101,979

1. Tatyana Yarosh       Kirovograd       Dinamo             35,686
2. Natalia Gorodni        Lvov                Ukraina            35,485
3. Alina Kozich            Kiev                Gart                 35,326
4. Mirabella Akhunu     Kiev                Gart                 34,777
5. Alyona Kvasha         Cherkassy      VS                   34,736
6. Olga Roshchupkina Zaporozhye     Ukraina            34,509

1. Alyona Kvasha       9,150              1. Alina Kozich               9,150
2. Mirabella Akhunu   9,150               2. Olga Roshchupkina    8,925
3. Yulia Kravchenko   8,850               3. Oksana Andreshkova 8,525

1. Olga Roshchupkina    8,975           1. Alina Kozich 9,280
2. Inna Teslenko            8,875           2. Natalia Sirenko 8,900
3. Inna Krasnyanskaya 8,850            3. Natalia Gorodni 8,875