Lisa MARTIN
Fri, 11 March 2022,
The Ukraine team raise their fists at the Beijing Paralympics
(AFP/Thomas LOVELOCK)
Biathlon gold medallist Liudmyla Liashenko's Kharkiv home was
Biathlon gold medallist Liudmyla Liashenko's Kharkiv home was
bombed while she was at the Paralympics
(AFP/Mohd RASFAN)
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Despite reeling from the events back home, Ukraine's Paralympic
Despite reeling from the events back home, Ukraine's Paralympic
athletes have managed 25 podium finishes
(AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
![]()
France’s Benjamin Daviet (L) hugs Ukraine’s Grygorii Vovchynskyi (R)
France’s Benjamin Daviet (L) hugs Ukraine’s Grygorii Vovchynskyi (R)
after the men’s cross-country sprint free-standing final
(AFP/LILLIAN SUWANRUMPHA)
There will be no welcome parade when Ukraine's most successful Winter Paralympics team returns to its war-torn homeland from Beijing -- some members may not even be able to reach their bombed cities.
But after persevering on the slopes and field, the athletes are now vowing to bolster their country's fight for survival with donations, volunteer work and helping loved ones.
The United Nations estimates more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine -- the majority to neighbouring Poland -- since Russia invaded more than two weeks ago.
Despite reeling from events back home, Ukraine's Paralympic athletes managed 25 podium finishes in biathlon and cross-country skiing events, including a team record of nine gold, as of Friday afternoon.
They could add to the tally this weekend in cross-country skiing and relay events.
Previously, the country's seven gold at the 2006 Turin Games had been its most successful Winter Paralympic outing.
But while other competitors will head home with sights set on training for the 2026 Games, the Ukrainian athletes face life in a warzone.
Nine members of the team, including the head coach, are from heavily bombed Kharkiv -- and it could be too dangerous to return to that city.
Biathlon gold medallist Liudmyla Liashenko's Kharkiv home was bombed earlier this week.
After the closing ceremony on Sunday in Beijing, the team will fly to Istanbul and then have a few days rest in Warsaw before travelling by bus to Ukraine.
- No place like home -
Biathlete Pavlo Bal, 35 -- a former airborne soldier who had his legs amputated after an injury in 2017 -- knows it will be a long and tough fight ahead for his country.
"I will be a blood donor and help internally displaced people," he told AFP through an interpreter.
"Maybe I will help with logistics."
His wife and two-year-old son are safe with his brother in a village and although he keeps in touch with frequent video calls he wants to see them in person.
"I cannot wait to get back home and hug my family. I'm looking forward to that the most," he said.
A Ukrainian poem that his mother taught him -- about home being the best place -- has brought him solace while competing in China, he said.
While Bal plans to take up hand-cycling have been disrupted by the conflict, he still hopes to make it to the next Winter Paralympics.
- Family reunion -
Teammate Grygorii Vovchynskyi, 33, is desperate to be reunited with his 10-year-old daughter, who is staying in a village with his parents.
"I tell her that I love her every day," he said.
Vovchynskyi won gold, silver and bronze in his men's standing biathlon races and a bronze in a cross-country event and aims to lift the spirits of family and friends.
"Those who are sheltering underground, those who are under fire and those who are so afraid when they hear the sirens and run to the basements, I want to tell them that this hour is not for you. This is not your story and this is not how it will end," he said.
He plans to donate clothes and give shelter to people escaping the fighting.
"The main task will be to do what I can to help Ukraine. I want to help my friends who are in the cities where there is a lot of fighting, in places where there is a need for humanitarian aid," he said.
The Ukraine team's grit has won plaudits from fellow athletes and games organisers.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said the team's journey was an extraordinary sports story.
"The fact they are competing here, knowing what is going on in their nation, and are still focused on competition -- it's incredible," he said.
There were always examples of resilience at any Paralympic Games -- but this was next level, Parsons added
"This is beyond what I thought was possible," he said.
lpm/lb
There will be no welcome parade when Ukraine's most successful Winter Paralympics team returns to its war-torn homeland from Beijing -- some members may not even be able to reach their bombed cities.
But after persevering on the slopes and field, the athletes are now vowing to bolster their country's fight for survival with donations, volunteer work and helping loved ones.
The United Nations estimates more than 2.3 million people have fled Ukraine -- the majority to neighbouring Poland -- since Russia invaded more than two weeks ago.
Despite reeling from events back home, Ukraine's Paralympic athletes managed 25 podium finishes in biathlon and cross-country skiing events, including a team record of nine gold, as of Friday afternoon.
They could add to the tally this weekend in cross-country skiing and relay events.
Previously, the country's seven gold at the 2006 Turin Games had been its most successful Winter Paralympic outing.
But while other competitors will head home with sights set on training for the 2026 Games, the Ukrainian athletes face life in a warzone.
Nine members of the team, including the head coach, are from heavily bombed Kharkiv -- and it could be too dangerous to return to that city.
Biathlon gold medallist Liudmyla Liashenko's Kharkiv home was bombed earlier this week.
After the closing ceremony on Sunday in Beijing, the team will fly to Istanbul and then have a few days rest in Warsaw before travelling by bus to Ukraine.
- No place like home -
Biathlete Pavlo Bal, 35 -- a former airborne soldier who had his legs amputated after an injury in 2017 -- knows it will be a long and tough fight ahead for his country.
"I will be a blood donor and help internally displaced people," he told AFP through an interpreter.
"Maybe I will help with logistics."
His wife and two-year-old son are safe with his brother in a village and although he keeps in touch with frequent video calls he wants to see them in person.
"I cannot wait to get back home and hug my family. I'm looking forward to that the most," he said.
A Ukrainian poem that his mother taught him -- about home being the best place -- has brought him solace while competing in China, he said.
While Bal plans to take up hand-cycling have been disrupted by the conflict, he still hopes to make it to the next Winter Paralympics.
- Family reunion -
Teammate Grygorii Vovchynskyi, 33, is desperate to be reunited with his 10-year-old daughter, who is staying in a village with his parents.
"I tell her that I love her every day," he said.
Vovchynskyi won gold, silver and bronze in his men's standing biathlon races and a bronze in a cross-country event and aims to lift the spirits of family and friends.
"Those who are sheltering underground, those who are under fire and those who are so afraid when they hear the sirens and run to the basements, I want to tell them that this hour is not for you. This is not your story and this is not how it will end," he said.
He plans to donate clothes and give shelter to people escaping the fighting.
"The main task will be to do what I can to help Ukraine. I want to help my friends who are in the cities where there is a lot of fighting, in places where there is a need for humanitarian aid," he said.
The Ukraine team's grit has won plaudits from fellow athletes and games organisers.
International Paralympic Committee President Andrew Parsons said the team's journey was an extraordinary sports story.
"The fact they are competing here, knowing what is going on in their nation, and are still focused on competition -- it's incredible," he said.
There were always examples of resilience at any Paralympic Games -- but this was next level, Parsons added
"This is beyond what I thought was possible," he said.
lpm/lb
Ukraine team equals best ever Winter Paralympics performance
Ukraine's Liudmyla Liashenko celebrates after winning the women's individual standing para biathlon final event on Mar 11, 2022.
11 Mar 2022
ZHANGJIAKOU: Days after learning her Kharkiv home was bombed, Ukrainian athlete Liudmyla Liashenko steeled herself on Friday (Mar 11) for a gold medal performance on day seven of Beijing's Winter Paralympics.
Her success was one of six biathlon podium finishes on the day for the Ukraine team, which is reeling from the trauma of Russia's invasion of the Eastern European nation more than two weeks ago.
"I dedicate this medal to the Ukrainians, to the army who protect us and to my family," Liashenko, 28, said.
It was a hat trick of gold on Friday for Ukraine, with Oleksandr Kazik and Oksana Shyshkova's also victorious in their visually impaired events.
Shyshkova has bagged five medals at the games - three gold and two silvers across biathlon and cross country skiing events.
"We (want to) protect the honour of our country," she said.
"That is maybe what is motivating us to focus and do all the best that we can during the race. Maybe that is the secret."
The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine, the majority to neighbouring Poland.
Related:
Ukraine athletes appeal for peace with banner at Beijing Games
'It's a miracle we're here': Ukraine team arrive in Beijing
Despite grappling with immense uncertainty and fears for the safety and welfare of loved ones back home, as of Friday afternoon the Ukraine team had equalled their previous best-ever Winter Paralympic performance.
They are second on the overall medal tally, behind China, with a 25 medal haul including a record nine gold.
The country's 25 medals and seven gold haul in Turin at the 2006 games had been its most successful Winter Paralympic outing until now.
Team veteran Vitalii Lukianenko, was unable to win his third gold for the week, placing second to Kazik, 25, in the men's visually impaired biathlon on Friday.
"At my age, 44 years old, even bronze is a gold medal," he joked.
For Kazik, the success was a confidence boost and he said it was humbling to beat his legendary teammate.
"Vitalii is a great athlete and at every Paralympic Games he is one of the leaders," he said.
In Yanqing, there were three Austrian sisters on the podium in the women's visually impaired giant slalom alpine skiing event.
Veronika Aigner, 19, achieved a Paralympic title guided by her sister Elisabeth, 23, while younger sister Barbara, 16, claimed bronze.
"We are so happy that I and my sisters are on the podium. It's crazy," Veronika said.
Their brother Johannes, 16, has also won four medals at the games including two gold. The three siblings have the same congenital cataract condition as their mother.
At the para-snowboarding, China's Wu Zhongwei, 26, outclassed the competition in the LL1 banked slalom category and Sun Qi, 22, won the LL2 race, with the host nation also picking up two silvers and two bronze medals in the women's event and men's category for upper limb impairments.
American Brenna Huckaby won the women's para-snowboarding banked slalom while France's Maxime Montaggioni triumphed in the men's UL race.
Meanwhile, a bronze medal is up for grabs in the wheelchair curling later Friday night when Slovakia plays Canada.
Reigning champs China will face Sweden in the gold medal match on Saturday.
Source: AFP/mi
Ukraine's Liudmyla Liashenko celebrates after winning the women's individual standing para biathlon final event on Mar 11, 2022.
(Photo: AFP/Mohd RASFAN)
11 Mar 2022
ZHANGJIAKOU: Days after learning her Kharkiv home was bombed, Ukrainian athlete Liudmyla Liashenko steeled herself on Friday (Mar 11) for a gold medal performance on day seven of Beijing's Winter Paralympics.
Her success was one of six biathlon podium finishes on the day for the Ukraine team, which is reeling from the trauma of Russia's invasion of the Eastern European nation more than two weeks ago.
"I dedicate this medal to the Ukrainians, to the army who protect us and to my family," Liashenko, 28, said.
It was a hat trick of gold on Friday for Ukraine, with Oleksandr Kazik and Oksana Shyshkova's also victorious in their visually impaired events.
Shyshkova has bagged five medals at the games - three gold and two silvers across biathlon and cross country skiing events.
"We (want to) protect the honour of our country," she said.
"That is maybe what is motivating us to focus and do all the best that we can during the race. Maybe that is the secret."
The United Nations estimates that 2.5 million people have fled Ukraine, the majority to neighbouring Poland.
Related:
Ukraine athletes appeal for peace with banner at Beijing Games
'It's a miracle we're here': Ukraine team arrive in Beijing
Despite grappling with immense uncertainty and fears for the safety and welfare of loved ones back home, as of Friday afternoon the Ukraine team had equalled their previous best-ever Winter Paralympic performance.
They are second on the overall medal tally, behind China, with a 25 medal haul including a record nine gold.
The country's 25 medals and seven gold haul in Turin at the 2006 games had been its most successful Winter Paralympic outing until now.
Team veteran Vitalii Lukianenko, was unable to win his third gold for the week, placing second to Kazik, 25, in the men's visually impaired biathlon on Friday.
"At my age, 44 years old, even bronze is a gold medal," he joked.
For Kazik, the success was a confidence boost and he said it was humbling to beat his legendary teammate.
"Vitalii is a great athlete and at every Paralympic Games he is one of the leaders," he said.
In Yanqing, there were three Austrian sisters on the podium in the women's visually impaired giant slalom alpine skiing event.
Veronika Aigner, 19, achieved a Paralympic title guided by her sister Elisabeth, 23, while younger sister Barbara, 16, claimed bronze.
"We are so happy that I and my sisters are on the podium. It's crazy," Veronika said.
Their brother Johannes, 16, has also won four medals at the games including two gold. The three siblings have the same congenital cataract condition as their mother.
At the para-snowboarding, China's Wu Zhongwei, 26, outclassed the competition in the LL1 banked slalom category and Sun Qi, 22, won the LL2 race, with the host nation also picking up two silvers and two bronze medals in the women's event and men's category for upper limb impairments.
American Brenna Huckaby won the women's para-snowboarding banked slalom while France's Maxime Montaggioni triumphed in the men's UL race.
Meanwhile, a bronze medal is up for grabs in the wheelchair curling later Friday night when Slovakia plays Canada.
Reigning champs China will face Sweden in the gold medal match on Saturday.
Source: AFP/mi
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