KIEV, Ukraine - Ten-time America East champion Viktoriya Rybalko, a former track & field standout at University of Maine, has qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games after winning the long jump competition at the Ukrainian Athletics Championship last week. Rybalko, a native of Zaporzhye, Ukraine, jumped distances 6.76 meters (22 feet, two inches) and 6.72 meters (22 feet, one inch) to qualify for the games.
Rybalko, the 19th-ranked female long jumper in the world, starred as a sprinter and jumper for the Black Bears from 1999 to 2003. While in Orono, she won 10 America East titles and set three conference championship meet records. She is the co-record holder in the indoor long jump and owns the all-time marks in the indoor triple jump and outdoor long jump competitions.
Rybalko also won six titles at the New England Indoor Track & Field Championships and two more at the New England Outdoor Track & Field Championships. She placed second in the long jump competition at the 2003 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championship to earn All-America recognition.
The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will take place August 8-24 in Beijing, China.