How Ukrainians Are Breaking Sports Records During the War
Today, the Opening Ceremony of the XXXIII Summer Olympic Games is taking place in Paris. Despite facing the third year of full-scale aggression from Russia, a devastated energy system, and daily rocket, Shahed drone, and bomb terror, Ukraine has managed to secure 124 licenses. But how is it even possible to engage in sports in a country ravaged by the largest European war since World War II, let alone achieve success and set world records? Let’s delve into it…
One of the latest fantastic achievements in Ukrainian sports is the world record in high jump, which had stood – can you believe it? – since 1987, when Bulgaria's Stefka Kostadinova cleared 2.09 meters. This record was finally surpassed by Yaroslava Mahuchikh, who leapt an astonishing 2.1 meters at the Diamond League competition.
Mahuchikh surpassed that additional centimetre, which no other athlete could conquer for 37 years. This is certainly a reason to throw a huge celebration for at least two weeks. However, the record was set on July 7, and by July 8, Russia launched a missile strike on Kyiv's children's hospital 'Okhmatdyt'. So, Mahuchikh's joy over her sporting success was short-lived. On her Instagram, she wrote in mourning:
"No record will bring joy when Russia attacks my country every day, killing our soldiers and taking the lives of children and their parents."
For Yaroslava, the war is not something happening far in the east of the country. Russia regularly shells her hometown of Dnipro, and in the spring, the Russians deliberately targeted the sports school where she began her career as a little girl.
Unfortunately, even now, as the Olympics begin, Ukrainians expect new achievements from Mahuchikh and new acts of terror from Putin. Undoubtedly, European tradition dictates that all wars should be halted during the Olympics. As their restorer Pierre de Coubertin said: "O sport, you are peace!" But Putin does not know the word "peace". For him, everything is a war. By the way, his main war is also fought for restoration, but not of some high ancient traditions, but of the bloody practices and orders that Ronald Reagan aptly called the "Evil Empire". Thus, during the Olympics, we expect him to drop even more bombs on Ukraine and send even more brainwashed soldiers into meat assaults. Because in Putin's twisted imagination, the famous phrase of the French sports enthusiast sounds like this:
"O sport, you are war!"
And this is no exaggeration. On February 24, 2022, Putin declared war on everything Ukrainian, including sports. During the war, 456 Ukrainian athletes and coaches have been killed by Russia. Some of the victims were unlucky to find themselves in the occupied territories in the first days of the invasion, while others were those brave athletes who took up arms and joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. For example, the two-time European Weightlifting Champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko went to fight against the Russians as a volunteer, and in May this year, the tragic news of his death at the front was announced.
Source: Noc.ukr.org
The above statistics only concern athletes from national teams, but the number of semi-professionals, amateurs, and active lifestyle enthusiasts killed cannot be counted. Although in Ukraine, there is an effort to honour each victim separately, with a special memorial site-requiem for the fallen – "Angels of Sport".
Those athletes whom Russia cannot kill at the front, it tries to target in the rear. Over 500 sports infrastructure objects have been destroyed by Russian shelling in 2.5 years – this is called "demilitarisation" in the Kremlin: to destroy Ukrainian pommel horses, burn football stadiums, turn swimming pools into ruins, and so on. For example, at the end of last summer, the 'Meteor' sports complex in Dnipro, where Ukrainian swimmer Oleksandr Zheltiakov was preparing for this year's Olympics, was hit by a missile attack. The explosion occurred 20 meters from his hotel room, but fortunately, he survived.
Source: Suspilne
Similarly, in the autumn of 2022, the Russians "demilitarised" the Kharkiv pool "Lokomotiv" with S-300 missiles – the home base of the national artistic swimming team. Russia deprived not only Ukraine's "golden fish" but also boxers, for whom a modern club had been opened there just before, of their training venue.
Source: Suspilne
Therefore, just as Ukrainian soldiers at the front try not to gather in one place to avoid provoking the enemy into a missile strike, athletes in the rear often avoid gathering in large sports complexes. However, Russia still tries to target them – if not in the arena, then at home. Ukrainian climbing champion Roman Vasko had just celebrated New Year's 2024 when Russia launched a massive missile attack on Kyiv on January 2, completely destroying, among other things, his apartment and car. Vasko miraculously was not at home at the fateful moment.
Source: Instagram
Another example of Russian fascism is the terrorist attack in August 2022, when one of the missiles hit the house of Ukrainian high jumper Kateryna Tabashnyk. The powerful explosion spared her numerous medals and certificates – even a tattered bib with her surname survived, a photo of which went around the world. However, her mother was killed.
Source: Suspilne
It's not just Ukrainian media that reports on the Ukrainian athletes who have fallen victim to Russian war crimes; international colleagues are also shedding light on the issue. For instance, this year, Czech television aired a documentary titled Charakter: Sportovec, directed by Radan Šprongl. The film portrays the state of Ukrainian sports two and a half years after the onset of Russian aggression, highlighting the number of talented Ukrainian athletes killed by Russians under the orders of their president, Vladimir Putin. It also details the unimaginable hardships Ukrainians endure to proudly represent their country on the global sports stage.
Boots Instead of Sneakers
While Putin's athletes have been preparing for the 2024 Olympics for 2.5 years, many Ukrainian athletes have been forced to swap improving their speed, accuracy, flexibility, endurance, strength, etc., for holding the front lines against Kremlin's barbarian invaders with weapons in hand. Over 3,000 Ukrainian athletes have mobilised into the military, including world-class stars. Champions such as boxer Oleksandr Usyk and Vasyl Lomachenko, Olympic karateka Stanislav Horuna, legendary Dynamo Kyiv footballer Oleh Luzhnyi, biathlon world champion Dmytro Pidruchnyi, and renowned runners Yuriy Kischenko, Mykola Nyzhnyk, and Vasyl Sobunyak – this is far from a complete list of those who, despite their fame and wealth, stood shoulder to shoulder in the trenches with ordinary Ukrainian soldiers.
Source: Instagram
Regarding Oleksandr Usyk, not only did he manage to unify all championship belts in a bout with Tyson Fury while serving in the army, but he also donated over $1 million to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Usyk also enjoys honouring his fellow soldiers by composing poetic odes. In honour of Oleksandr Matsievskyi, who was killed in captivity by the Russians for shouting "Glory to Ukraine!", Usyk wrote the following lines:
"Glory to Ukraine – for such words,
You took a bullet and are no more,
But eternal memory to you, warrior,
You crushed enemies for our Motherland.
You showed strength, the strength of the Armed Forces,
Yes, glory to heroes, and to you – in paradise."
Source: Suspilne
It's not just male athletes who have swapped sneakers for boots. For example, Ukrainian MMA fighter Svitlana Gotsyk decided in 2023 to replace her father on the front line, who was discharged from the army due to heart problems. Interestingly, she didn't even have to come up with a call sign, as the nickname "Phoenix Bird," which she used in the ring, perfectly suits her current role as an FPV drone pilot:
"My comrades respect me, the leadership sees that I do everything necessary. I endure all physical burdens on par with men. I show everything through actions. I came here to be useful and help drive the Russians out of our land."
Another striking example of Ukrainian sportswomen at war is strongwoman Hanna "Tuchka" Vasiuk, who joined the defence of her native Kharkiv. At first, she carried crates of humanitarian aid on her shoulders instead of her usual dumbbells, and then she joined counterintelligence, where she rose to the rank of senior sergeant, gaining the un-feminine experience of assaulting and clearing several settlements:
"There were times we went on a 30-kilometre clearing mission there and back in full armour, with an RPK. If it weren't for my sports career and endurance, I would probably have given up and sat somewhere on a hill."
Interestingly, some Ukrainian athletes manage to combine military service with training and even setting world records. Dmytro Kosatyi, a serviceman in the EW battalion in Dnipropetrovsk region, performed 126 push-ups in 60 seconds in the summer of 2023, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records, and also did 110 pull-ups in 3 minutes, setting a Ukrainian record.
Unbreakable and Unyielding
Never giving up – this is the motto of every athlete, but for Ukrainians, it is more than just words of encouragement for competitive spirit. It is a matter of life and death for their country, whether they are in the trenches or in the arena. Of course, for various reasons, not all Ukrainian athletes became soldiers after February 24, 2022. For instance, high jumper Andriy Protsenko from Kherson was stuck in the occupation for 40 days in the early days of the invasion. He didn’t think of collaborating with the Russians; instead, he maintained his form as best he could by training on the edge of a field being prepared for sowing. This allowed him to win bronze at the World Championships in Eugene in the summer.
Source: Suspilne
Practically all Ukrainian athletes try to resist Russian aggression to the best of their abilities – if not at the front, then in international competitions, drawing the world's attention to the genocide committed by Russia and showcasing the trademark spirit of Ukrainian resilience. At a competition in Thailand, a wave from competitors sank the kayak of Ukrainian rowers, but they continued desperately to paddle to the finish, chest-deep in water, impressing spectators with their sporting resilience.
Ukrainian Paralympians, who are unfit for military service, defended the honour and dignity of their country where they could – at the Winter Paralympic Games in Beijing, held at the beginning of the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian team showed the best results in the history of independence, taking second place in the medal standings. It was then that the tradition of Ukrainian athletes ignoring Russians at competitions began with ski champion Oksana Shyshkova, who, while standing on the podium for awards, demonstrated the "fist of resilience":
"This fist means that we are unbreakable, invincible, that we are Ukrainians. I am very proud to be Ukrainian and want to live only in Ukraine because it is my homeland. We watched the news every day, we saw how many people were suffering and dying. We asked for the sky to be closed, shouted, and fought as best we could."
Source: GettyImages
While some Ukrainian athletes become soldiers, some Ukrainian soldiers, having served their time, switch to becoming athletes. The Invictus Games, founded in 2014 by Prince Harry, is an analogue of the Paralympic Games where military veterans compete. The next tournament, for the first time in history in a summer/winter format, will be held in February 2025 in Canada, and the "blue and yellow" will go with a record number of 35 participants (three times more than the previous tournament).
Sports as Politics
It’s notable that the hand of a Ukrainian athlete instinctively clenches into a fist not only in moments of triumph on the podium but also when a sports ambassador of Putin's regime brazenly tries to shake hands. If we set aside tennis tournaments, the first Ukrainian athlete to face Putin's envoys since the beginning of the full-scale invasion was sabre fencing world champion Olga Kharlan.
In the summer of 2023, when she decisively defeated Anna Smirnova, the latter tried to shake hands after the bout – as if her country's hordes weren’t simultaneously storming Kharlan's homeland's borders along over 3.5 km of the front line. Of course, the Ukrainian didn’t respond with friendliness to the fan of the Russian army. The audacious Z-patriot Smirnova persistently waited for an hour, hoping the organizers would forcibly bring Olga Kharlan to shake her dirty hand, which had recently hugged her brother, an active Z-occupant. But Kharlan refused to do so even under the threat of disqualification, believing that the distance of a drawn sabre was the closest good people should allow any supporters of Russian chauvinism.
If Putin uses his doping-filled Z-athletes to assert the imaginary greatness of his bloody "Russian world" on the global stage, why shouldn’t peaceful Ukrainian athletes use the same platforms for political counterstrikes? For example, Ukrainian figure skater Ivan Shmuratko competed at Euro-2024 wearing a shirt with a bloodstain.
He is not the only Ukrainian athlete who decided to engage in politics during the war. Dynamo Kyiv and AC Milan star Andriy Shevchenko became an unofficial advisor to President Zelenskyy. Moreover, as a volunteer, he raised significant funds to help the country and became the first sports ambassador of the United24 initiative supporting Ukraine. Later, he was joined by tennis player Elina Svitolina, footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko, and boxer Oleksandr Usyk.
One of the forced decisions after Russia’s invasion was the ban on mass events. This was very painful as any sport is unthinkable without spectators in the stands. But what can be done – when Putin learns that many Ukrainians have gathered somewhere, he itches to launch a rocket there, especially if it’s football fans. Back in 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, it was the fans of Metalist and Shakhtar who first took to the streets to protest and sang the song "Putin – khuylo!" (Putin - dickhead) which later became known worldwide.
10 Star Ukrainian Athletes at the 2024 Olympics
Source: NOC-Ukraine
But let's get back to today's main topic – the Olympic Games in Paris. If you want to support Ukraine but don’t know which of the "blue and yellow" athletes to cheer for, then cheer for each and every one without exception. And you can start with this list of ten true global superstars:
Don’t be misled by this Cossack’s dark skin – he is a true Ukrainian, born in Kyiv. In 2020, at the last Olympics in Tokyo, Beleniuk won gold in Greco-Roman wrestling. He is also a current member of the Ukrainian parliament.
A personal Olympic gold in fencing is perhaps the only award that the legendary Ukrainian sabre fencer doesn’t have yet. Let's see if she can take first place this time. And if another Z-athlete dares to approach Kharlan for a handshake or a hug.
A highlight of this year's Olympics is the historic inclusion of breakdancing in the competition programme. Among the three Ukrainian Olympians in baggy trousers, sideways caps, and oversized hoodies, Oleh Kuznetsov stands out, having taken first place at the Unbreakable Bboy Championship in 2016.
In 2020, young tennis player Yastremska began to beat one top-20 opponent after another, but then the pandemic was declared, putting her career on hold (she also suffered severely from COVID-19 herself). However, at the 2024 Australian Open, she reached the semi-finals, giving hope for a spectacular breakthrough in Paris. Yastremska is one of those athletes who, playing on courts around the world, never forgets her homeland: "I am proud of Ukraine, Ukrainians – both warriors and civilians. When I was in Brisbane, a rocket hit my grandmother’s house before my game. It was hard to play. We must remember and give as much support to Ukraine as possible. I am proud to be Ukrainian."
Despite losing 7 of her last 10 matches, tennis player Marta Kostyuk is ranked 19th in the world. The Paris Olympics are a great opportunity for the 22-year-old from Kyiv to prove to everyone that she deserved the title of Ukraine’s top player, and that her recent poor performances were due to the stress caused by Russia’s dishonourable actions in Ukraine:
"People are still dying every day. My whole family is in Kyiv now. My mum sends me videos when rockets fly over their house. We have never been in a favourable position because this is a completely unequal and horrible war. For the past two years, we have just been in survival mode. I play and try to succeed, but then I look around and feel that it doesn’t really matter. It’s just a tennis match, just a tennis tournament. And there – it’s real life."
Although this high jumper – the youth champion of the 2014 Olympics – slightly lags behind Yaroslava Mahuchikh (she placed 8th in Tokyo), she can be called a veteran of the Olympic movement in Ukraine. The Paris Games will be her third. Moreover, the beautiful Yuliya is adored by men and emulated by young Ukrainian women – she has half a million followers on Instagram.
This is the girl who would love to throw the pseudo-judoka Putin over her hip and pin him to the ground (that’s just for starters, of course…). Two-time world judo champion Daria Bilodid won bronze at the last Olympics, so now in Paris she desperately needs gold.
At her first Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, the triple jumper fouled on each of her attempts and finished in last place. But as we’ve established, Ukrainian athletes never give up. At the next Olympics in Tokyo, Maryna placed 5th, and real success came in 2022 when she set a personal record by jumping 15.02 metres and winning gold at the European Championships in Munich. Paris must become another triumph for her.
This former top Ukrainian tennis player and bronze medallist of the last Olympics has defeated all the Russian women she has faced on the court since 24 February 2022. Perhaps that’s why she has 1.7 million followers on Instagram? After all, it’s always nice to see someone thrash Z-athletes – even if they are competing under a neutral flag.
"It’s tough. I always remind myself that we have girls and guys defending our country on the front line, and it’s ten times harder for them. Playing somewhere is a chance for me to represent Ukraine, so people can watch and cheer for me, cheer for Ukraine."
At the last Olympics in Tokyo, 19-year-old Yaroslava Mahuchikh cleared exactly 2 metres and won bronze. In Paris, the athlete arrives as a world record holder, so who knows: if she managed to clear 2.10 metres – what’s stopping her from going a bit higher and clearing 2.11? In short, we’re rooting for Yaroslava... Because, you know, while high jumpers take 37 years to clear an extra centimetre, Putin's horde conquers Ukrainian lands in the East at roughly the same pace. The difference is that when athletes compete, no one dies and no blood is shed, whereas when Putin tries to prove the mythical greatness of Russia to the world – these efforts turn into genocide of a neighbouring nation. So, let everyone decide for themselves whom to support: the smiling Ukrainian girl with pigtails who cleared +1 cm, or the sports envoys of the bloody Kremlin dictator, on whose hands lie the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.