Rooting for “Ukrainian” Lorraine Ferry

Quite a few Ukrainian athletes would happily join the Australian national team to vie in the most important events. Not because they lack patriotic spirit but simply because they want to earn decent money, a task which is still easier to accomplish in the West. Picture an athlete in his/her best shape, at the peak of publicity, adored by fans and with excellent press followings, suddenly leaving Australia and emerging in Ukraine. Difficult but true. And the athlete who did it is a young woman. But perhaps feminine logic and several other factors can explain this incredible fact. Lorraine Ferry, 23, three times world champion and eight times Australian champion in sports aerobics, wants to apply for Ukrainian citizenship and defend our national colors in top-level competitions, she announced at a news conference in Kyiv on Thursday. She explained that she had no professional future in Australia, because sports aerobics is not popular there, adding that she thought Ukrainian coaches were much better, reports Interfax Ukraine. This is another reason. Tetiana Pasichna, president of the Ukrainian Sports Aerobics and Fitness Association, told the news conference that Lorraine Ferry had become a member of USAFA, that she had applied for citizenship, and that the association is assisting her in this. “Lorraine Ferry can compete for Ukraine on the national team only after being naturalized,” said Tetiana Pasichna, adding that the Australian athlete had shown an interest in the Ukrainian team for two years, at different competitions, “both during the competition and at a party after.” Besides, her manager is a Ukrainian-Australian businessman, Oleksiy Smyrnov, also rumored to be her fiance.

Lorraine Ferry has been in Kyiv since March 7 and has started training. According to Tetiana Pasichna, she will enroll at the physical education department of the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute after receiving Ukrainian citizenship and studying Ukrainian or Russian, so she can eventually become a sports aerobics coach. Her immediate plans include vying in the ANAC sports aerobics championships in California this August as a member of the Ukrainian national team then in the FISAF event in Prague (November).