“Difficult to sleep” – Ukrainian Paralympians try to stay strong at Beijing 2022
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Team Ukraine at Beijing 2022
The Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics have been a gruelling emotional examination for Ukrainian athletes owing to the Russian army’s invasion last month. However, this unfortunate turmoil has impacted their performances as the Ukrainian team has excelled at the Games.
With six gold, eight silver, and five bronze medals, the East European country currently sits third in the table. But standing on the podium has surely been overshadowed by the crisis back home.
“It’s super difficult. Nobody can get any sleep. You have your phone beside you and you can’t help but scroll to know what’s happening,” Taras Rad, who has won two medals in biathlon, told Reuters.
He added: “And when you do get some sleep, you’re so worried that you wake up in the middle of the night… every time I go back to the (Olympic) village, the first thing I do is call up my family.”
“Have been giving it all for my country” – Vovchynskyi
Grygorii Vovchynskyi said his bronze medal in Wednesday’s sprint free-standing event was as good as a gold.
“I’ve been giving it all for my country. I represent Ukraine. I love Ukraine. Given everything that’s been happening, this is my gold medal,” the 33-year-old told Reuters.
“We have to stick together, stay strong. We are speaking with family and friends on the ground there every day and they tell us to concentrate on the competition, but it’s not so easy.”
Currently, the clouds of uncertainty still loom whether the athletes will be able to return home after Beijing 2022 – the delegation plans to fly to Poland from where they will try to get to Ukraine.
“I want to go to my family, my friends, my daughter. I want to go home. All of us will discuss and find a way,” said Vovchynskyi.
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