Good health is a great blessing. Everybody should do everything they can to remain healthy. Being in good health means having both mind and body in good working order, free from diseases and pain, in our country sport is a matter of national importance, for its aim is to improve the health of the people and to bring up a generation of physically strong, cheerful and courageous young men and women.Nowadays the young and old like to participate in various kinds of sports. Physical education is a subject in schools. The sports programme in schools for youth includes swimming, volleyball, tennis, track and field and others. Schoolchildren regularly participate in sports competitions. Many Pupils become members of sports club. Every year in our country many different sports competitions are held at different levels. There are a lot of famous athletes of whom Ukraine is very proud.Lviv's reputation for sports rests on the top athletes who have started their careers here, for example, Igor Ter-Ovanesyan, the long-jumper, was competitor in five Olympic competitions taking bronze medals in the and Tokyo Olympic Games. He is a three – time European champion. Others include pentathlon Pavlo Lednyov; gymnast Victor Chukarin, winner of six Olympic gold medals, three silver and one bronze; gymnast Bogdan Makuts, winner of a gold Olympic medal in Seul; and fencer Yevgeny Cherepovsky. Athletes from Lviv and the Lviv region have won a total of 31 Olympic medals: eleven gold, eleven silver, and nine bronze.The Lviv chess school has a high reputation. Among its former pupils are the international grand master Olexandr Bilyavsky, Oleg Romanyshin, Andrian Mykhalchyshyn, Marta Litynska, Vasil Ivanychuk and losef Dorfman. A chess hall has been opened in the town, and students of the Lviv Physical Training Institute have the opportunity to specialize in chess. In the Physical Training Institute there are 2,000 students. The Lviv fencing school which was set up by Professor Vadim Andriewsky has won fame. Promising younger sportsmen of Lviv are coached at special schools.Several times our sportsmen were standing on the top step of the Olympic pedestal and the anthem of Ukraine was played in their honour.Our Ukrainian football teams, "Dynamo", "Metalist", "Chornomorets" and "Dnipro" took part in European championships.
