Abstract

The Ukraine can look back on a long and glorious tradition in athletics. As a part of the Soviet Union it supplied many of that country’s famous victories, most notably those by Olympic champions Valeriy Borzov and Sergey Bubka, both of whom are presently in leading positions in Ukrainian sport organisations. Since independence in 1991, Ukrainian athletes have won 15 medals at the Olympic Games and recently the country has consistently been among the most successful at both the world and European levels. This success has helped to make athletics among the most popular sports with the public and ensure continued government support. The sport’s achievements can be largely attributed to the country’s support model. In this case study, the author outlines the key elements of the model and provides interesting insights. The points covered include the federation, athletics infrastructure, coaches, technical officials, talent identification system, performance development structure and reward system. Verf.-Referat