Ukraine is going to the Paris Olympics as it’s fighting for its life and liberties against a full-scale invasion by Russia, now in its third year. Associated Press teams of journalists fanned out across the vast country and elsewhere in Europe to document the war’s grievous toll on Ukrainian athletes, coaches, sports facilities and – by killing and maiming children and forcing others to flee – the country’s sporting future. Ukraine was one of the sporting powerhouses that emerged from the collapse of the Soviet Union. But years of fighting off Russia and its relentless airstrikes and the deaths on front lines of athletes-turned-soldiers are slowly chipping away at Ukraine’s sporting edge. Its Olympic team in Paris is burdened by trauma and a heavy responsibility: to keep the war in the global spotlight by winning medals.
It takes a decade and a national infrastructure of training facilities, feeder schools, equipment, and coaches to nurture an Olympic champion. Russia’s invasion has destroyed all of it for Ukraine’s future athletes.
read moreOlympic athletes need complete focus and drive to compete at the elite level. High jumper Kateryna Tabashnyk, however, often finds her mind wandering to her bombarded native city of Kharkiv and the Russian missiles that have stolen so much.
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For Ukranian hurdler Anna Ryzhykova, the Paris Olympics is not about medals and records. All she cares about now is using the global stage to bring attention to the war with Russia.
read moreMaksym Halinichev had a plan to win a medal for Ukraine at the Paris Games. Instead of taking advantage of his status as an elite athlete to train abroad, he enlisted in the military and made the ultimate sacrifice for his country.
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