Oleksandr LAPKO: "Momma is afraid for me, but I still win"

"Oleksandr, did you anticipate this success?"

"Why else did I come out on the mat? In any case, I wrote in the questionnaire to be filled by all athletes, in the column "Your ambitions at this tournament," that I only fight to win. I think my rivals also answered like this."

"A kick seems to be your favorite move. Last year, in the championship of Europe, you finished the bout with a Dane by knocking him out in the stomach at the very first minute, and now in Kyiv, during the finals..."

"And why should I put things off? I always set myself a task to get a clean win, that is, to do my opponent so that he gives up."

"Oleksandr, last year, after the Cup of Europe held in the Norwegian city of Bergen, all local newspapers called your performance phenomenal..."

"The point is that competition only hosted the champions and medal winners of Europe and individual countries. So it gathered a very strong contingent. And the absolute category, like in boxing, judo, and other varieties of martial arts, is considered the most prestigious, and victory in it testifies to the strength of a nation's school.

"Incidentally, there were representatives of 18 countries there, and, as you see, the more athletes from one team compete, the more chances to achieve success: one can tire out a strong rival, and his teammate finishes the job, so to speak. It is clear that people who like and know about karate highly appreciated my individual breakthrough (and I was the only one from Ukraine) to the winner's circle."

"So you mean very few Ukrainian karate adepts, besides you, are highly thought of in Europe?"

"No. Last year's champion of Europe Volodymyr Zadorozhny from Zhovti Vody also is thought of highly, but he has been unlucky lately. He was ill all last season, and here in Kyiv, even in the qualifying bouts, his rival was the tournament's only Spaniard (his compatriot, Mario Garos, is president of the European Kiokushin-Karate Organization), and the judges found a fault with our athlete, ostensibly a wrong chop, and disqualified him."

"A few words about yourself."

"I am 26, graduated from the Kherson Pedagogical Institute. I trained for many years by the Ukrainian national team coach Serhiy Vsevolodov, and now I have been in Kyiv for over a year, where I practice and work at the Komblis Sports Club headed by president of the Kiokushin-Karate Federation Stanislav Blyzniuk. I am married and have a five year-old son."

"What is your relatives' attitude to your less than safe profession?"

"Mother once watched my bout on TV and said her heart might not hold out. But my wife even came several times to see me compete."