"Lost Mother and Survived Burning Hell" Stories of Athletes Who Chose the Olympics Amid War [Paris Olympics]

Russo-Ukrainian War Enters 2 Years 5 Months... International Interest Waning
Despite Bombing, Training Ground Collapse, and Evacuation Alerts
Focus Remains on Training Ignoring Warnings... Frustrated After Losing Family
"Live for Today" Embracing Sorrow, Challenges Olympic Dreams

"Our victory will draw great attention to Ukraine."

Anna Ryzhykova, a Ukrainian national women's hurdling athlete, recently said this in an interview with the Associated Press. She is a veteran national athlete who won a bronze medal in the 400m relay at the 2012 London Olympics and placed 5th in the 400m hurdles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Training at the Kyiv Sports Center in Ukraine's capital, she expressed her determination to secure a medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, saying, "You only get attention when you win and stand on the podium. The higher you are, the more attention you receive."

At the European Athletics Championships held in Rome, Italy, last June, Ukrainian national team member Yaroslava Mahuchyk is competing in the women's high jump final.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

There is a compelling reason why Ukrainian Olympic athletes, who are in a state of war with Russia, must win medals. Although the Ukrainian people have not returned to normal life for two years and five months since the war broke out in February 2022, global interest in Ukraine's wartime situation has significantly diminished. According to reports by the Associated Press and The Guardian, athletes are continuing their efforts on the international Olympic stage to raise awareness that Ukraine is still suffering from the pains of war.

According to reports, more than 500 sports facilities in Ukraine have been destroyed since the war began. Swimming pools, which require large spaces, are a prime example. In 2022, a missile attack by Russia destroyed the Lokomotyv Sports Center in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, eliminating the training venue for athletes who won bronze in artistic swimming at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The swimming pool in Mariupol, a Ukrainian port city occupied by Russia, has also been obliterated by shelling.

Training continued until recently at the Meteor Swimming Pool in Dnipro, a city in south-central Ukraine. Multiple air raids last year cracked windows and caused structural damage throughout the facility. There, evacuation alarms still sound 5 to 10 times a day. Athletes had to adapt to the sudden alarms. It was said that while training in the water, they could even feel the vibrations from external bombings.

On the 19th, an event related to the issuance of Olympic stamps by the Ukrainian Post was held at the Olympic House in Kyiv, Ukraine.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

When the swimming pool was bombed, everyone evacuated and returned the next day to clean all day. Although a nearby factory was completely burned down beyond recognition, fortunately, part of the swimming pool remained usable and was used as is. Oleksandr Zeltiakov, a Ukrainian Olympic swimming national team member, said, "Qualifying for the Olympics itself is amazing, but it is just the beginning of the journey," adding, "I will represent my country in the best way possible by doing everything I can at the Olympics."

This wartime situation deals a blow to athletes who should be focusing on training ahead of the Olympics.

Oleh Doroshuk, a Ukrainian male high jump national athlete, told the AP that he had to learn how to train while ignoring alarms in his hometown of Kropyvnytskyi. When bombings occasionally occurred, it became routine to evacuate to bomb shelters and then return to training. He confessed that he struggled with whether his training was right while Russian bombings were ongoing and other Ukrainian youths were fighting for their lives on the front lines.

The image shows a sports center in Kharkiv, Ukraine, that collapsed due to Russian bombing in June [Image source=AP News Agency]

Katerina Tabashnyk, a female high jump national athlete, said she could not help but think of her family in her hometown of Kharkiv whenever bombings occurred. She lost her mother due to Russian bombings. She said, "The past two years have been like a burning hell. Sometimes the pain engulfed my whole body, making me feel numb," but she decided to get back up and compete in the Olympics. She has a tattoo below her collarbone that reads, 'Live for today.'

Given these circumstances, the efforts of Ukrainian athletes to win medals are extraordinary. However, the Associated Press reported that the actual possibility of Ukrainian athletes entering the Olympic medal ranks is not high. Until the 2012 London Olympics, Ukraine ranked among the top 13 countries in medal counts, but their performance declined in Olympics held after Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Ukraine won 11 medals, the fewest among independent countries, and dropped to 22nd in the national rankings. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, they rose to 16th place but won only one gold medal out of 19 total medals.

Ukrainian athletes are also concerned about facing Russian and Belarusian athletes, who are allies of Russia, at the Olympics. Although the International Olympic Committee banned Russian national teams from competing as a sanction for Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, Russian athletes can participate under the status of 'Individual Neutral Athletes' (AIN), making it possible to meet them at the venue. However, Russian athletes cannot use their national flag, anthem, or other symbols and are not allowed to participate in the opening ceremony.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.