Athlete of the Week: Viktor RUBAN (UKR)

Viktor RUBAN took part in his first Olympic Games in Athens in 2004. In what was his first major international event, the 23-year-old was a member of the Ukrainian team that won the bronze medal. RUBAN secured a spot in the individual elimination round, but lost his 1/16 match to Laurence GODFREY (GBR) and finished 13th overall.   Viktor RUBAN’s first international individual title came during the preparation period before the Beijing Olympic Games, in late June 2008 at the Boe World Cup.   At the Beijing Olympic Games, RUBAN took part in the team event together with Markiyan IVASHKO and Oleksandr SERDYUK. Seeded No. 2 after qualifications, they were unable to defend their position from 2004, losing the semifinal to the eventual silver medallists Italy and the bronze medal to the host China.   In the individual event, the native of Kharkiv finished the qualification round with a total of 678 points, just one point behind the leader Juan Rene SERRANO (MEX) and equally placed with Mangal Singh CHAMPIA (IND). This gave him the third seed for the individual elimination round. After easy victories in the early rounds, his first close match was the semifinal against Russia’s Bair BADENOV. The match ended in a tie at 112-112 after the regular 12 arrows were shot, requiring a first shoot-off (10-10) followed by a second, which RUBAN won 10-8. In the final he defeated the two-time team champion PARK Kyung-Mo 113-112 for the gold medal (see video at http://www.olympic.org/archery). RUBAN’s Olympic victory had a huge impact on the development of archery in Ukraine.      RUBAN with teammates and coach at Shanghai 2012 World Cup Following the Games, the new Olympic champion was one of four archers selected for the World Cup Final in Lausanne, Switzerland. In late September 2008, RUBAN placed a close second to the then-world champion IM Dong-Hyun (KOR). RUBAN displayed his talent once again at the 2009 World Championships, where he won the individual bronze medal behind Olympic team champions LEE Chang-Hwan and IM Dong-Hyun from Korea.   The defending Olympic champion, who has had more success in team that in individual events in recent competitions, will take part in his third Olympic Games later this month in London (pending approval by the Ukrainian Archery Federation and National Olympic Committee).         Biography Extract:   Viktor RUBAN (UKR) – Born on 24 May 1981   3rd Team European Championships Amsterdam 2012 3rd Team World Cup Shanghai 2012 3rd Team Indoor World Championships Las Vegas 2012 3rd Team World Cup Ogden 2011 3rd Individual World Cup Porec 2011 3rd Individual World Championships Ulsan 2009 1st Individual Summer Universiade Belgrade 2009 2nd Individual World Cup Final Lausanne 2008 4th Team Olympic Games Beijing 2008 1st Individual Olympic Games Beijing 2008 1st Individual World Cup Boe 2008 8th Individual World Championships Madrid 2005 3rd Team Olympic Games Athens 2004 13th Individual Olympic Games Athens 2004   Find more information on Viktor RUBAN (and all other archers) on the World Archery website.   World Archery Communication