Stepan Gzhytskyi National University of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnologies Lviv

The physical education curriculum at the then-named Lviv Veterinary Institute was initiated on September 1, 1940, alongside the military preparation of students, while the department itself was established as an independent structural unit in 1949. Back then, four lecturers were on staff: Adolf Samoilovych Segner, Oleksandr Ivanovych Boiko, Borys Stepanovych Zaporozhskyi, and, starting from 1951, Vasyl Vasylovych Solomonko. In 1950–1951, Master of Sports Volodymyr Stanislavovych Keller worked as a lecturer at the department; he was a world-renowned specialist in the theory and methodology of sports, a Doctor of Pedagogical Sciences, a professor, an Honored Coach, and an Honored Scientist of Ukraine.

The department chairs over the years were: Senior Lecturer A. S. Segner (1949–1958), Senior Lecturer A. M. Honcharov (1958–1968), Associate Professor M. M. Myronov (1968–1975), Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Professor, Honored Coach of the Ukrainian SSR, and Honored Worker of Physical Culture and Sports of Ukraine V. V. Solomonko (1975–2008), Honored Coach of Ukraine R. B. Melekh (2008–2009), and Associate Professor, Master of Sports A. Y. Patsevko (2009–2017). In 2017, the department was headed by Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences, Associate Professor, Master of Sports of Ukraine, and National Category Referee B. S. Semeniv. He is the author and co-author of 37 scientific articles and 8 educational-methodological works in the field of physical culture and sports, including 9 scientific publications indexed in the international scientometric databases Scopus and Web of Science; his textbook “Profiling Physical Preparation of Students” received the official stamp of approval from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. His primary scientific research falls within the domain of physical culture and sports for student youth, focusing on developing methodologies for comprehensively elevating the level of physical qualities and forming motor skills in students during physical education and educational-training sessions. He is a member of the Association of Sports Wrestling of Ukraine, a member of the All-Ukrainian Federation of Traditional Belt Wrestling Styles, and heads the regional branch of the public organization “All-Ukrainian Federation of Ukrainian National Belt Wrestling.” He is a national category referee in “Alysh” belt wrestling and Ukrainian belt wrestling.

Multi-time winners and medalists of competitions among higher education institutions of the former Soviet Union and Ukraine in Greco-Roman wrestling over various years included: Anatoliy Novosad, Bohdan Luchko, Ivan Fedkiv, Fedir Tovt, Vasyl Prodan, Mykhailo Kostiuk, Vasyl Lesiv, Ivan Pekar, Mykhailo Vysniovskyi, Taras Drypen, and Oleksandr Zhovtyi; and in freestyle wrestling: Fedir Tovt, Vasyl Prodan, Volodymyr Pilich, Bohdan Semeniv, Oleksiy Domanytskyi, Ihor Yarushevskyi, Roman Dzhelep, Vitaliy Hurskyi, Sofiya Shyshak, Sofiya Bodnar, Anastasiya Bozhenko, Vira Stadnyk, and Khrystyna Kuzio.

Athletic glory and contributions to promoting a positive image for the university in Ukraine and on the international arena were secured by:

Bohdan Luchko – Winner of the USSR Classical Wrestling Championship among students of agricultural higher education institutions (1977);

Ivan Fedkiv – Winner of the Championship of the Central Council of Trade Unions of the Ukrainian SSR in classical wrestling, silver medalist of the Championship of Ukraine (1983);

Vasyl Prodan – Medalist of the Championship of the Central Council of Trade Unions of the USSR in freestyle wrestling (1986);

Anatoliy Novosad – Master of Sports of the USSR in classical wrestling, medalist at Ukrainian Championships (1986);

Fedir Tovt – Master of Sports, Youth Champion of Ukraine in classical wrestling, 5th place at the USSR Classical Wrestling Championship (1986);

Pavlo Andriienko – Master of Sports of International Class, Champion and winner of the Cup of Ukraine (1994–1995), participant in the World Championship in Beijing and the European Track and Field Cup in Rome;

Volodymyr Veremiy and Mykola Kysil – Medalists at the Ukrainian Equestrian Sports Championship (1994 and 1995);

Chaba Lelekach – Silver medalist of the World Muay Thai Championship in Bangkok (1996);

Vasyl Forkavets – Footballer for the “Karpaty” (Lviv) master team;

Oleh Leshchyshyn – Master of Sports of International Class, member of the national track and field team of Ukraine (2008), Paralympian (2012 Games);

Natalia Mazur – Silver medalist of the European Junior Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Italy (2013);

Kostiantyn Koliada – Participant in the European Track and Field Championship in Italy (2014);

Oleksiy Domanytskyi – Bronze medalist of the European Freestyle Wrestling Cup (Russian Federation) as part of the national team of Ukraine (2014), participant in the European Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Bucharest (Romania), and participant in the World Freestyle Wrestling Championship in Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) in 2019;

Roman Bondariev – Men’s World Kettlebell Lifting Champion in Bulgaria (2025).