Kiev, April 13, 2015 – The 2014 Heroes of Sports Year Awards Ceremony, one of the main annual sport events in the country now in its ninth edition, has recently taken place in the capital city of Ukraine.

The ceremony, organized by the NOC and Ukraine and the Ukrainian Youth and Sport Ministry, was attended by star athletes, members of the Ukrainian sports family, numerous media representatives, artists and show biz celebrities.

2014 Sportsman of the Year is Oleh Verniaev, artistic gymnastics World and European champion (parallel bars) and double bronze medallist at the European championships, while Sportswoman of the Year is Olha Kharlan, sabre fencing World and European individual champion, and World and European bronze medallist in the team event.

As for coaches, Hryhory Shamrai, biathlon coach for the women’s national team, winners of the relay race at the XXII Olympic Winter Games, was named Coach of the Year.

All winners received highly prestigious awards as well as gifts, outfits and cash bonuses from sponsors of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.

Speaking at the opening of the Ceremony NOC President and the IOC Executive Board member Sergey Bubka said: “Every time I attend the ceremony I have very special feelings and emotions seeing so many generations of sport legends meet together. I feel exceptional pride for my country and fellow athletes, as 2014 has been one of the most successful for Ukrainian sport despite very tough times for our country”.
The full list of the winners of all 13 nominations – athletes, teams, coaches and administrators – are on the NOC website – www.noc-ukr.org .