Lyudmila Blonska of Ukraine celebrates winning gold in the women's Pentathlon (© Getty Images)
A team of 16 athletes will represent Ukraine at the 12th IAAF World Indoor Championships, Valencia, Spain (7 - 9 March 2008).
The delegation is led by the reigning World Indoor champion for the Pentathlon Lyudmyla Blonska who is the world leader this season and has progressed well since her gold in Moscow 2006. The Ukrainian took the Heptathlon silver at Osaka World Championships last summer with a 6832pts national record and has scored a 4771pts national record indoors this season in Pentathlon.
The reigning Olympic men’s Shot champion Yuriy Bilonoh, leads the men’s team, at the national indoor championships in Sumy, he won with 20.07m.
Of the other major contenders one of the most interesting members of the team is perhaps, Tetyana Petlyuk, the European Indoor 800m silver medallist, who with a season’s best of 1:59.76 is a real danger to all in the women’s 800m, yes even a threat to seven-time champion Maria Mutola.
The famous Donetsk Pole Vault School is also well represented: Nataliya Kushch, the national women’s record holder, Maksym Mazuryk the winner of this year’s Zepter Pole Vault Stars meet, and Denys Yurchenko, the 2004 World Indoor bronze medallist.
And of course don’t discount high jumper Vita Palamar who has a season’s best 1.99m.
Olena Slobodianiuk for the IAAF
MEN
Bilonoh, Yuriy - Shot Put
Bodrov, Igor - 60m
Hlushchenko, Dmytro - 60m
Demyanyuk, Dmytro - High Jump
Mazuryk, Maksym - Pole Vault
Yurchenko, Denys - Pole Vault
WOMEN
Palamar, Vita - High Jump
Blonska, Lyudmyla - Pentathlon
Tobias, Nataliya - 1500m
Pyhyda, Nataliya - 400m
Yefremova, Antonina - 400m
Petlyuk, Tetyana - 800m
Dobrynska, Nataliya - Pentathlon
Kushch, Nataliya - Pole Vault
Saladuha, Olha - Triple Jump
Snihur, Yevheniya - 60m Hurdles
