The Olympic medals have come in a flurry for Ukraine in recent days: golds at the track and on the fencing piste, a silver in gymnastics, two other bronzes.
“It’s a time to celebrate and think not about the war,” Mykhailo Kokhan, 23, a member of Ukraine’s national guard, said after winning a bronze in the men’s hammer throw on Sunday.
The Paris Games have been a welcome respite for a country where at least one bakery sells pastries shaped like anti-tank obstacles and there is now deep uncertainty over the nation’s sporting future.
Ukraine’s 140 Olympians have shown remarkable perseverance since Russia’s invasion in February 2022, preparing for the Paris Games either in other, safer nations, or at home to the grim soundtrack of air-raid alerts and missile attacks.
Another improvised his weight lifting by attaching car tires to a metal rod.
Persons:
” Mykhailo Kokhan
Organizations:
Paris Games
Locations:
Ukraine