(Beijing) The arrival of the Ukrainian team at the Beijing Paralympic Games (March 4-13) is a “miracle”, said Thursday the head of the delegation, who describes athletes now motivated to “defend their country”.
Posted at 3:19 p.m.
The Russian invasion in Ukraine began last week. The country’s airspace has been closed and land transport is very disrupted, making it difficult for athletes to come to China.
“It’s a miracle that we got here,” said Valeriy Sushkevych, the president of the Ukrainian Paralympic Committee, to the press, dressed in a tracksuit in the yellow and blue colors of his country and visibly moved.
“Many of our team members had difficulty escaping the bombs […] The easy solution would have been not to come. But we couldn’t give up. »
He said he had “not slept all night” the day before, after the initial decision on Wednesday by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete. A decision finally reversed on Thursday.
“A big thank you” to the international organization for reconsidering its position, declared Valeriy Sushkevych, who said he had received “many messages of solidarity” having made it possible to influence the CIP.
“A superpower (Russia) wants to destroy my country,” he said. “Our presence at the Paralympics is not insignificant. It is a symbol that Ukraine was, is and will remain a country” and that it “is alive”.
Equipment scattered throughout the country and which had to be recovered, athletes from 11 different regions of Ukraine, inaccessible money, reduced transport: he described a “difficult” journey.
“I myself slept on the floor on the bus for several days. I couldn’t sleep in my seat because of my health issues,” Sushkevych said.
“Our main objective in coming here is to defend our country with the entire international sports community. »
His athletes are relieved to have arrived in Beijing, but the context remains difficult for him.
“Many of our athletes are constantly on their smartphones to follow the news and call their families. It’s hard to compete calmly in these conditions”, he says.
“But we consider today that there are two front lines. One in Ukraine for our soldiers, and one here in Beijing with us. »
During the 2018 Paralympics in PyeongChang, the Ukrainians won 22 medals (including 7 gold) and finished sixth in the nations ranking.