Ukrainian athletes have a greater task in Paris than elite sports, writes Jelena Leppänen.
Jelena Leppänen sports reporter
Paris Olympics on channels 26.7.–11.8. Go to the competition website here. You can find the entire program of the games here.
PARIS. History is not silent. It doesn’t matter how much it is burned, destroyed or lied about, human history refuses to be silent.
Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano wisdom felt relevant again when five high-profile Ukrainian athletes gathered in front of the media in a Parisian auditorium at the start of the Olympic Games.
Often, the press conferences before the games are a must for stars preparing for the highlight of their career, but with the Ukrainian five, the top of tennis Elina Svitolinaa swordsman Stay with Harlana swimmer Myhailo Romantšukkia diver Stay at Sereda and rower With Anastasija Koženkova international journalists had a bigger task than sports.
A group of athletes told how it feels to compete on the Olympic stage at the same time as their country is fighting a 2.5-year-long defensive war. Unlike many international colleagues, these stars of their sports had time for the media. The Olympic Games are a golden opportunity for them to appeal to the world not to forget Ukraine.
– Many of my friends are now at the front. I am here to represent them, Olha Harlan, the multiple winner of the fencing competition, told Urheilu after the event.
In Paris, Harlan and the others fight not only for their country but also against Russian propaganda, which tells their own version of the ongoing full-scale war. In it, Russia has belittled the destruction it has caused, kept silent about gross human rights violations and presented itself as a defender of justice to its own people.
Russia’s propaganda machine has been honed to its peak under the current administration. It affects television broadcasts, roadside advertisements in cities and villages, and always in school lessons. It has painted a demonized picture of Ukrainians long before the current state of war.
Ukraine’s weekend press conference was yet another reminder of how blatant the lies have been. In front of the media sat not only the top experts in their fields, but above all people whose pain could not help but be touched.
The eyes of tennis star Elina Svitolina and Olha Harlan were in tears, when the 18-year-old diver Oleksij Sereda, who was sitting at the other end of the table, told the media about the pride he felt for his father on the frontline.
Like the fencing star Harlan, Sereda is from the port city of Mykolayiv. Since the start of the full-scale war, Harlan has rarely made it to his home region. The times when it has been possible, it has been a crushing sight. Many beloved places have turned into ruins.
The swordsman told that he lost his grandparents last year. The goodbyes were left unsaid, which still weighs on the experienced athlete.
– Such moments have a huge impact on training and preparation. But they have also taught us athletes to harden our hearts, he described.
Similar stories and losses can be found in Ukraine’s Olympic team of 140 athletes in the darkest of clouds.
One of the most arresting comments belonged to Olympic swimming champion Anastasija Koženkova, who said that she hoped above all for a normal childhood for her 10-year-old son.
– I want the world to remember that we have loved ones and children. Their fate constantly stresses us.
Even more, the 2012 Olympic champion said he wants to show his son that you have to fight for the most important things in life. That is exactly why the 38-year-old Koženkova was talking about her experiences before the most difficult Olympic start of her career.
He and others present spoke about their lives with the immediacy of people who have been through hard times, although at times it clearly hurt.
In the face of such immediacy, even a massive web of lies woven with skill feels surprisingly weak.