1.   That victory put the Ukrainians beyond the reach of their nearest challengers, Dynamo Moscow.

2.   His nearest challenger, former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, got barely a third as many votes.

3.   She was already in the stands, showing her medal to her mother, when her nearest challenger reached the finish line.

4.   By contrast, the nearest challengers, Aberdeen, Hibernian and Hearts have won the league title four times each.

5.   Coincidentally, Parma is the nearest challenger to Juventus in the Italian standings and also faces La Juve in the domestic cup final.

6.   He enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls, while his nearest challenger, former U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar, is a distant second.

7.   His nearest challenger at the start of the third round, Brenden Pappas, self-destructed.

8.   His nearest challenger, Justin Rose of England, is seemingly well out of contention in a tournament he must win to take the tour lead.

9.   His nearest challenger at the start of the fourth round, South African Brenden Pappas, self-destructed.

10.   Of four major presidential candidates who lost to Moi, only his nearest challenger, Mwai Kibaki, has said he will challenge the results in court.