Ukrainian swimming sisters cling to Olympic hopes
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Ukraine's Maryna Aleksiiva and Vladyslava Aleksiiva most recently compete for a World Cup event in May in Montpellier, France.
PHOTO: AFP
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MONTPELLIER – Far from home and fearful for their family they left behind, Ukrainian artistic swimmers Vladyslava and Maryna Aleksiiva are still daring to dream of winning medals at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 21-year-old Ukrainian twin sisters won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics and were training to do even better when the Russians invaded their country in 2022.
They fled Kharkiv at the start of the war as Russian missiles rained down on the city.
The duo then spent six months in Italy and are now able to make short stays in Ukraine, in between stops on the international circuit, most recently for a World Cup event in May in Montpellier, France.
In an interview with AFP, they admitted it was hard to focus on training when their parents and other family members are under constant threat back home.
“I was a little bit nervous,” said Maryna, and her voice trails off.
Like the perfect partner, Vladyslava takes up the baton: “And it’s stressful for us to be separated from our relatives because they are still in Ukraine. And yesterday, there was bombing and there were destroyed houses in Uman and also in Kyiv.
“So, of course, it’s a stressful situation when you’re abroad and your parents are in Kyiv, also in Kharkiv.
“I called Mum yesterday, but it was an air alert. I was a little bit nervous. Mum and Dad said ‘Everything’s OK, don’t worry’. So we tried to keep calm and concentrate on our competition.”
Training and competing in France has been almost a utopian world for the sisters after their experiences in Ukraine, where they were often deprived of electricity and lights.
“And very cold water! Winter outside and winter inside the pool,” said Maryna.
“Without electricity, we could not dry our hair. Now, it’s a little bit better because it’s warm and we have electricity. Sometimes, I still turn on the flash on my phone because I forget that we have electricity.”
Athletes from Russia and its ally Belarus were largely banned
But in March, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they could return to competition as individual neutrals, providing they did not actively support the war.
Ukraine immediately pulled its judo team out of the World Championships in Qatar earlier in May in protest.
The Aleksiiva sisters fear a similar scenario will lead to Ukraine boycotting the Paris Olympics.
Having earlier joined a chorus of Ukrainian athletes vowing to boycott the 2024 Games if the IOC allows Russians to participate, the sisters have softened their position.
“Maybe from our side, we must do something with our (policy), to change it,” Vladyslava said. “So that we can go to championships where there will be Russians.
“Because it’s stupid that they can go – but they kill people – and we didn’t do anything and we can’t go.” AFP
