Regions of Ukraine

The country now known as Ukraine was a part of the Empire of Russia. The Russian empire expanded in 1795 (Poland), and 1816 (Bessarabia) and thus controlled the entire territory of present-day Ukraine for a hundred years.
Ukraine became part of the Soviet Union in 1921, but some territories were lost to Hungary and Romania.
Many of those territories, and some more, were regained after WWII.
Ukraine achieved independence in 1991. It lost part of its territory to Russia in the early 21st century, but those territories are still recognized by the international community as Ukrainian.

Galicia

Galicia was the name of the easternmost "Land" of Austria before 1918. The territory became Polish after 1918, but a large part was transferred to the Soviet Union after 1945, and became Ukrainian after 1991. That area now forms the Lviv oblast in Ukraine.

Olympians born before 1918 in Lviv Oblast (then Austrian):

  1. (-2.25) Wladyslaw Ponurski (aut-POL/ATH/1912)
  2. (320.0) Ladislavs Kurpiel (aut-POL/FOO/1912)
  3. (480.6) Szczepan Witkowski (POL/BIA-CCS/1924)
  4. (4.000) Feliks Kostrzębski (POL/CYR/1924)
  5. (4.000) Kazimierz Krzemiński (POL/CYR/1924)
  6. (3045) Franciszek Szymczyk (POL/CYT/1924)
  7. (3360) Adam Królikiewicz (POL/EQJ/1924)
  8. (1868) Adam Papée (POL/FEN/1924-36)
  9. (0.850) Mieczysław Batsch (POL/FOO/1924)
  10. (0.960) Walerian Maryański (POL/SHO/1924)
  11. (3.000) Jerzy Łucki (POL/BOB/1928)
  12. (0.040) Franciszek Kawa (POL/CCS/1928)
  13. (113.9) Marja Brodacka (POL/ART/1928)
  14. (25.02) Leon Dołżycki (POL/ART/1928)
  15. (25.02) Kazimierz Sichulski (POL/ART/1928)
  16. (25.02) Zygmunt Rozwadowski (POL/ART/1928)
  17. (6400) Kazimierz Wierzyński (POL/ART/1928)
  18. (800.0) Roman Sabiński (POL/ICH/1932)
  19. (845.5) Kazimierz Sokolowski (POL/ICH/1932-36)
  20. (2.186) Eugeniusz Geppert (POL/ART/1932)
  21. (45.50) Roman Stupnicki (POL/ICH/1936)
  22. (3.724) Włodzimierz Bartoszewicz (POL/ART/1936)
  23. (2560) Jan Parandowski (POL/ART/1936)
  24. (3.724) Maria Rużycka (POL/ART/1936)
  25. (800.0) Spirydion Albański (POL/FOO/1936)
  26. (82.00) Antoni Franz (POL/FEN/1936)
  27. (32.00) Juliusz Sieradzki (POL/SAI/1936)
  28. (-4.24) Antoni Pachla (POL/SHO/1936)
  29. (800.0) Jan Wasiewicz (POL/FOO/1936)

Olympians born between 1918 and 1945 in Lviv Oblast (then Polish):

  1. (320.0) Bolesław Kolasa (POL/ICH/1948)
  2. (2.690) Adam Krajewski (POL/FEN/1952)
  3. (6.400) Józef Lewicki (POL/SWI/1952)
  4. (2922) Ryszard Zub (POL/FEN/1956-64)
  5. (3.840) Wiesław Król (POL/ATH/1960)
  6. (2.560) Stanisław Ożóg (POL/ATH/1960)
  7. (384.0) Jerzy Wojnar (POL/LUG/1964-68)
  8. (1250) Ryszard Pędrak (POL/LUG/1964)
  9. (480.0) Marian Leszczynski (POL/ROW/1964)
  10. (2664) Wiesław Maniak (POL/ATH/1964-68)
  11. (96.00) Edward Czernik (POL/ATH/1964)
  12. (320.0) Krystian Czernichowski (POL/BAS/1964)
  13. (12000) Artur Olech (POL/BOX/1964-68)
  14. (6002) Irena Szydłowska (POL/ARC/1972-76)
  15. (25.01) Marek Małecki (POL/EQE/1972)
  16. (1.500) Artur Rogowski (POL/SHO/1972)

Zakarpattia

Transcarpathia was part of the Hungarian kingdom since its origins in the ninth century. After WWI it was joined with the Czech lands and Slovakia to form Czechoslovakia. It was independent for one day (15 March) in 1939, and occupied by Hungary. After WWII it was awarded to the Soviet Union and attached to Ukraine. It currently constitutes the Zakkarpatia oblast in independent Ukraine. The population is mixed, including Rusyns, who speak a language considered by some to be different from Ukrainian.

Olympians born before 1921 in Zakarpattia Oblast (then Hungarian):

  1. (18.00) Haluzsinszky József (HUN/ATH/1908)
  2. (1500) Gáspár Jenő (HUN/ATH/1924)
  3. (150.0) Vadnay László (HUN/SHO/1936)

Olympians born between 1921 and 1939 in Zakarpattia Oblast (then Czechoslovakian):

  1. (800.0) Iosyp Betsa (urs-UKR/FOO/1956)
  2. (96.00) Galántai Bálint (HUN/WRF/1956)
  3. (560.0) Pavel Gajdoš (tch-SVK/GYM/1960-64)

Olympians born between 1939 and 1945 in Zakarpattia Oblast (then Hungarian):

  1. (7269) Bodnár András (HUN/SWI-WAT/1960-72)
  2. (320.0) Iváncsó Vilmos (HUN/VOL/1964)
  3. Mária Gulácsy HUN FEN 1968 27 April 1941 Berehove, Zakarpattia (UKR)
  4. Juraj Demeč TCH ATH 1972 29 January 1945 Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia (UKR)
  5. Iozhef Sabo URS FTB 1972 29 February 1940 Uzhhorod, Zakarpattia (UKR)

Volhynia

Volhynia is an historic region between Russia and Poland. In 1569 It became a province of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. In 1795, with the third partition of Poland, it became part of the Russian Empire. In 1921, with the Peace of Riga, Volhynia was split: the Eastern part stayed in Russia, now the Soviet Union, while the Western part became part of Poland. That transfer became undone after 1945, when the whole of Volhynia became Soviet again, forming part of Ukraine. The area is now in independent Ukraine, and forms the oblasts of Volin, Rivne and Ternopil.

Olympians born before 1921 in Ternopil Oblast (then Austrian):

  1. (0.850) Mieczysław Wiśniewski (POL/FOO/1924)
  2. (100.1) Tadeusz Komorowski (POL/EQE/1924)
  3. (50.04) Władysław Jarocki (POL/ART/1928)
  4. (640.0) Aleksander Małecki (POL/FEN/1928)
  5. (5.910) Wiktor Podoski (POL/ART/1932-36)
  6. (3.724) Maria Łunkiewicz-Rogoyska (POL/ART/1936)
  7. (68.00) Tadeusz Śliwak (POL/ATH/1936)
  8. (128.0) Paweł Stok (POL/BAS/1936)

Olympians born between 1921 and 1945 in Rivne Oblast (then Polish):

  1. (75) Mieczysław Wilczewski (POL/CYR/1960)

Olympians born between 1921 and 1945 in Ternopil Oblast (then Polish):

  1. (320.6) Marian Babirecki (POL/EQE/1960)
  2. (48.00) Józef Beker (POL/CYR/1964)
  3. (101.4) Ludwik Denderys (POL/BOX/1972)

Chernivtsi

The Western part of the region, and the city of Chernivtsi itself, was until 1918 part of the Austrian Empire (Bukovina). The eastern part of the current region was Turkish, and Russian since 1816. This region was handed over to Romania after 1920. The northern part of Bukovina was returned to the Soviet Union in 1945. Chernivtsi is now an Oblast within Ukraine. In 2001, there were still some 20% of Romanian or Moldavian speakers (the difference between those languages is minimal) in this region, so there might be reason to treat Romanians of the interwar era as present-day Ukrainians. However, people who were born in the region but represented Romania after WWII must certainly be classed Romanian.

Olympians born between before 1918 in Chernivtsi Oblast (then Austrian):

  1. (-8.32) Eugeniusz Waszkiewicz (POL/SHO/1924)
  2. (32.00) Alfred Eisenbeisser (ROU/FSK/1936)
  3. (32.00) Irina Timcic (ROU/FSK/1936)
Waszkiewicz represented Poland and must be considered Polish.
Eisenbeisser and Timcic represented Romania (Eisenbeisser even also at Football). Considering that both were born in Chernivtsi, and they skated together, it seems logical to assume that they were still living there at the time of their Olympic appearance. Eisenbeisser, ethnically German, died in Berlin (in 1991), Timcic probably stayed in Romania or Ukraine. Even though a sizeable Romanian minority remains in Chernivtsi, it seems simplest to treat them as Romanians, rather than Ukranians.

Olympians born between 1920 and 1945 in Chernivtsi Oblast (then Romanian):

  1. (4104) Elena Leuștean-Popescu (ROU/GYM/1956-64)
  2. (1722) Vasile Mariuțan (ROU/BOX/1960-64)
  3. Viorica Viscopoleanu ROU ATH 1964—1972
They represented Romania at a time when Chernivtsi had been returned to the Soviet Union, so they must be treated as Romanians.
Written 2020-05-22 - last modified 2022-02-06

This page is part of the site "Full Olympians" by Herman De Wael. See here for a full Introduction.