War and sport: The story of Ukrainian weightlifters and their coach
The war in the neighboring country affected all areas of life there – including sportsmen and sportswomen. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the national weightlifting team had to leave its permanent training base in Kharkiv. Sportswomen currently live in the town of Veľké Berezné in the Uzhhorod district of the Transcarpathian region. Currently, the team continues to prepare for weightlifting competitions, including international ones. We spoke to the coach and members of the Ukrainian national team and asked how the war affected their lives, why they found themselves in the Transcarpathian region, and how they are preparing for the upcoming competitions.
“It is very important for us to continue playing sports at a professional level, because this is how we show that Ukraine is alive, that our flag on the pedestals and the anthem represent the country on the world stage. Our goal is to convey the message that Ukraine is a separate independent strong state,”Iryna said. They are currently preparing for the Olympic Games, which is an extremely important stage for the entire team. “We have already managed to build almost the same regime here as we had in Kharkiv. We are sincerely grateful to the local coaches who gave us such an opportunity to share the training ground, although many local weightlifters also train here,” Iryna added.
You always feel more comfortable when you are at home
20-year-old Alina Zakharchenko is an international weightlifting champion, and like Iryna, she also comes from Kharkiv. Although their training facilities are much smaller than in Kharkiv, they have successfully managed to establish a system, regime and discipline of training. According to Alina, the premises are comfortable, warm and cozy. However, the war affected the course of their training – for example, during alarms, they have to go to the shelter and then return to the gym again. This in turn leads to an increase in training time, because they have to warm up and stretch again after resting the muscles.
The girls experienced enormous pressure after arriving in the West
“No matter how quiet and peaceful it is here, every athlete has family, parents, brothers and sisters who have stayed in the east of the country, so of course it creates psychological pressure on the girls,” Valerii Nikulin, head coach of the Department of Kharkiv Regional College of Physical Culture and Sports and the Women’s National Weightlifting Team of Ukraine, said. His charges spent ten days in an air raid shelter in Kharkiv before reaching the western Ukrainian village. Valerii admitted that when they got to the Transcarpathian region, he had the impression that the girls had not been training for ten days, but at least two months. The war caused the girls to feel a lot of stress, to be inattentive and uncoordinated. It took some time for all of them, including the trainer, to recover from the shock and return to their usual regimen of training and nutrition. “As a coach, I have a double responsibility at the moment, because in addition to the training component, I also take care of the safety of the girls under my care,” Valerii said.
The war did not threaten sporting achievements
When asked what sport means to him, he replied that it is his job.”Regardless of what’s going on around, the job has to be done. Of course, we cannot not react to the war, we follow the news, we react, but someone has to defend, someone has to help people, and we glorify Ukraine on the world stage,” Valerii said. During the war, they already performed at three international competitions, and according to the coach, it is very pleasant when the national anthem of Ukraine is played abroad in honor of the girls.“Now the world supports us more than ever,” said coach Valerii.In May-June of this year, they won the European team championship in Albania. In August, their twelve girls aged 15-17 won 14 medals at the European Championship for boys and girls in Poland, and two young athletes became European champions.Despite the difficult circumstances, they are trying to keep the bar high so that the world talks about Ukraine and does not forget the horrors that are happening there.Against the backdrop of the war, however, they also experience pleasant moments, such as during the first competitive foreign trip to Greece. At the meeting, the whole hall welcomed the Ukrainian representation with thunderous applause. One of the girls was even invited to participate in the filming of a documentary about weightlifting.
Support for Ukraine knows no bounds
Valerii said that together they feel support abroad and at home. They are also supported by the international and European weightlifting federation, as well as by us at People in Need. We provided Valeriia and the female athletes with equipment, uniforms and vitamins. Even the village of Veľké Berezné and local residents are not behind in their help. “We are trying to do as much as possible for the local weightlifting center while we are here in Velky Berezny, so that we leave something useful and beautiful, so that people have at least some pleasant memories after the war,” Valerii added.
