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Iconic Olympian Sergey Bubka Calls for Peace in Ukraine

<p>Pole vault hero offers a reminder of the Olympic ideals.</p>
Image: OLY-2014-IOC
Ukraine's Sergey Bubka, executive board member arrives for the opening session of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) executive board meeting in Sochi prior to the start of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics on Feb. 2, 2014 in Sochi.ALEXANDER NEMENOV / AFP - Getty Images

The head of the Ukrainian Olympic team is calling for peace as violence escalates in his country:

Sergey Bubka, who is among the greatest pole vaulters in history, won a gold medal for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and later competed for Ukraine, a former Soviet republic.

Ukraine isn’t far from Sochi — less than 300 miles up the Black Sea coast at its closest point. Ukraine sent 43 athletes to Sochi and has one medal, a bronze in women’s biathlon. The city of Lviv is bidding to host the 2022 Winter Games.