This year, the sports event gathered more than 300 athletes from 15 regions of Ukraine.
The traditional 21st All-Ukrainian competitions in weightlifting in memory of Professor Yury Reznikov took place in the hall of the training and sports base for summer sports of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.
This is an annual competition that has been organized for more than 20 years. The goal is to attract Ukrainians to physical culture and sports, to develop and popularize kettlebell sports in Ukraine. The organizers of the competition set themselves the goal of increasing the skill level of Ukrainian athletes.
More than 300 participants from 15 regions of Ukraine, including Khmelnytskyi, Kirovohrad, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhya, Rivne, Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Volyn, Chernihiv, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Volyn, Ternopil, and Lviv regions, were preparing for the competition.
Among the participants are Honored masters of sports of Ukraine, masters of sports of international class, candidates for masters. Honored guests also visited the sports festival.
“Once again I have the honor to be present at a sports event of this level. However, this year the competition is taking place for the first time in the conditions of a great war against the Ukrainian people. Great honor and respect to all participants of previous years’ competitions, who after February 24 took up arms and stood up for the defense of Ukraine. The fact that today we are able to feel the spirit of sports fighting again is all thanks to our defenders. We must remember and honor the memory of those thanks to whom Ukrainian sports are developing, which Yuriy Reznikov has been doing for many years. And also, thanks to whom the whole of Ukraine is developing and living freely,” Oleg Nemchinov, Minister of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, addressed the audience.
As part of the sports event, the winners and prize-winners of the 21st All-Ukrainian Weightlifting Competition in memory of Yuriy Reznikov were awarded. Competitions took place among men and women of different weight categories. The weight of the kettlebell is 24 kg for men, 16 kg for women. The age of athletes is unlimited.
“The kettlebell competition has been going on for the past 20 years. For the same number of years, new and new generations of Ukrainians have been honoring the memory of the man who raised our athletes and fostered love for the development of physical culture – Yuriy Reznikov. Thank you to everyone who preserves this tradition and unites Ukrainian athletes from year to year,” said the head of the Lviv OVA, Maksym Kozytskyi, in his congratulatory speech.
In addition, there was an awarding of honorary degrees from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. Roman Khimyak, head of the youth and sports department of the Lviv OVA, was also awarded the medal from the Ministry of Defense “For assistance to the Armed Forces of Ukraine”.
The Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and the Union of Kettlebell Sports of Ukraine, the organization, are involved in the competition. The competition is organized by the Department of Youth and Sports of the Lviv Oblast, the Lviv Regional Office of the Union of Weightlifting Sports of Ukraine, the National Academy of Land Forces named after Hetman Petro Sahaidachny.
For reference: Yuriy Reznikov (1937-2001) – master of sports of the USSR, vice-rector for educational work and head of the department of pedagogy and psychology of the Lviv State Institute of Physical Culture, professor of the department of theory and organization of physical training of the National Academy of Ground Forces, long-term head of the Lviv Regional Federation of Acrobatics.
Yuriy Oleksiyovych put a lot of effort into the professional development of scientific and pedagogical workers of the department and the system of training specialists in physical education for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Under his leadership, the first curricula and training programs for officers specializing in physical training were developed.
After his death in 2001, on the initiative of the cadets of masters of sports of Ukraine of the international class in kettlebell sports, the first open kettlebell tournament was held in honor of his memory, which later became the All-Ukrainian one.
Yuriy Reznikov’s son Kostyantyn also came to the competition. He shared his father’s favorite sports wisdom: “Work until your muscles fail, because your character and spirit are stronger than them.”