In the Lviv region, the IX Memorial for Freestyle Wrestling in memory of Ukraine’s distinguished coach Oleh Sazonov was held.
The competition took place at the athletic arena with a velodrome (SKA) on Kleparivska Street, 39a. Around 300 athletes from all over Ukraine participated, aged between 9 and 14 years. “Athletes from the Lviv region won 12 gold medals, 9 silver, and 16 bronze,” noted Roman Khimiak, Director of the Department of Sports, Youth and Tourism of the Lviv Regional State Administration. Winners received medals, commemorative gifts, and cash prizes.
Oleh Sazonov was an iconic figure who shaped the future of freestyle wrestling in Ukraine. Throughout his coaching career, he trained over 150 masters of sports, 7 of whom were of international class. Among his trainees were Natalia Synyshyn, Yulia Khavaldzhi, Maryana Kvyatkovska, Oksana and Maria Livach, Tetyana Kit, Tetyana Lavrenchuk, Larisa Skoblyuk, Bohdana Yashchuk. Among the titled wrestlers he trained were Mykhailo Kushnir, Roman Motrovych, Oleksandr Kolesnik, Ihor Pervachuk.
For over a decade, he headed the Ukrainian women’s cadet team, which won 49 medals in European Championships and 11 in World Championships. From 1977 to 2014, he worked as a lecturer at the Lviv School of Physical Culture, where he is remembered as a coach sent from above.