Birmingham, Alabama - Ukraine has fared well on the first few days of The World Games 2022. The besieged nation has found itself towards the top of the medal table throughout the multi-sport event. However, no amount of success can overshadow the reality of the war to members of the Ukrainian delegation.
Ilya Shevliak, President of the Sports Committee of Ukraine, outlined the stranglehold the war held over athletes from his nation.
“Thirty percent of our athletes are from hot spots; that is, territories that are occupied for the time being,” the Ukrainian sports official confirmed. “Every tenth member of the national delegation is serving in [our] armed forces, or territorial defense as we call it. All of them understand the importance to be here…to win as a victory at our sport front.”
He thanked the International World Games Association (IWGA) for taking a tough position towards Russia and Belarus. An initial donation of 5,000 euros from the IWGA had been used to purchase 30 sets of body armor for athletes serving on the front line of the war.
Shevliak confirmed approximately 2,000 athletes were serving on the frontlines in the armed forces, while an additional hundred had died since the start of the war in February.
IWGA Vice President Max Bishop told reporters, “there were 141 athletes from Ukraine registered to take part in these Games. Unfortunately, only 91 actually managed to make it here for all kinds of different reasons.”
Nonetheless, Shevliak was thankful of the support the Ukrainian delegation had received since their arrival in Birmingham.
“We do appreciate the attitude [towards] Ukraine athletes,” he said. “We feel it everywhere, from all national delegations, organizers, and people on the street.”
“Everyone comes to us and asks, ‘what about the situation in Ukraine?’ We feel it’s very sincere, very open. We do appreciate such [an] approach.”
Members of the Ukrainian delegation were equally sincere and open about their experiences and thoughts on the war in Ukraine.
Stanislav Horuna, fresh off winning a silver medal in Birmingham, told the gathered press, “the crimes happening in Ukraine have nothing in common with sport.”
He spoke exclusively with Around The Rings, explaining, “this is a question of principle. We can’t agree to be rivals and equals with them while they are attacking us and killing our people.”
He argued, “sport is about equality, unity, tolerance, peace, but we have war. They came to us, to our home, and they kill us. We can’t accept this, and we can’t share these human values with them.”
“I think that the ban of Russian and Belarusian athletes is well deserved because they are part of government propaganda,” the Ukrainian karateka asserted. “They are part of how [the] Russian government broadcasts their narratives to the people and they are responsible for what is going on.”
“One day it will be the time that we fight and compete together again, but this time can only be possible if they will change their mentality, their authorities, and when they become a free and democratic country. Because for now, they are not.”
He also underlined what needed to happen in Ukraine for athletes to feel ready to compete alongside and against Russian athletes again.
“We have to recover our territory,” said Horuna. “We have totally clean up our territory from Russian people, Russian influence. We should be independent and safe.”
Russia and Belarus remain banned from many international sports competitions. Their opportunity to qualify athletes for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics may soon be impacted as qualification events begin. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to make a final decision on their participation at Paris 2024.