As Ukraine has slowly emerged from international anonymity since 1991, Ukrainian sports stars have played an often prominent role in putting the country on the global radar. Olympic champion gymnast Lilia Podkopayeva was an early example, taking gold at the Atlanta Olympic Games in 1996. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian presence in the world of boxing has consistently been disproportionately large, not least thanks to the unprecedented domination of the international heavyweight division by the Klitschko brothers from the early 2000s until the mid-2010s. However, it is in the footballing arena that Ukraine has garnered the most international attention, with no single figure doing more to promote Brand Ukraine than Andriy Shevchenko.
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Ukraine's coach Andrey Shevchenko (R) celebrates with Ukraine's forward Andriy Yarmolenko after winning the UEFA EURO 2020 Group C football match between Ukraine and North Macedonia at the National Arena in Bucharest on June 17, 2021.
