Ukraine’s run at this summer’s Olympic Games is beginning with an unpleasant record - only 205 Ukrainian athletes will make the trip to Rio de Janeiro for the games which will run from Aug. 5 till Aug 21.
That’s the lowest number since independent Ukraine first started sending its own team to the summer games, in 1996.
On the bright side, Ukraine will compete in 27 types of sports at these Olympics – the highest number ever.
Apart from a very different climate and high competition, other things are expecting Ukrainians in Brazil too, such as fears over the Zika virus and a very unstable political situation.
According to the Olympics website, athletes from more than 200 countries will compete in Rio.
However, many, and perhaps all of the athletes from one big country could well be missing from the games: In its latest report, published on July 18, the World Anti-Doping Agency WADA recommended that the International Olympic Committee disqualify all Russian track and field athletes from the games due to the confirmed widespread use of doping, which WADA said was encouraged by Russian coaches and sports officials at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Indeed, the IOC confirmed on July 21 that Russian track and field athletes have been banned from the competition, and more bans could follow.
This means Vira Rebryk, a javelin thrower from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory of Crimea, who changed citizenship in 2014 to be included in the Russian Olympics team, won’t be able to take part in the games, unless she wins the right to do so in the international courts.
That seems unlikely, given the strong wording of WADA’s report.
“The findings of the report show a shocking and unprecedented attack on the integrity of sport and on the Olympic Games. Therefore, the IOC will not hesitate to take the toughest sanctions available against any individual or organization implicated,” said IOC President Thomas Bach, in a statement published on the IOC’s website after WADA released its damning report on Russia.
Patriotic spirit
In contrast to Russia’s team, Ukraine’s athletes have passed all doping and other tests required for selection to take part in the Rio games.
This year the country will be represented for the first time in such sports as synchronous swimming and canoe slalom. Furthermore, three Ukrainian teams will compete for medals in fencing.
The Yellow and Blues (the name of the Ukrainian team) will also be bringing some famous sports stars to Rio. The Greco-Roman wrestling European (2014) and World (2015) champion Zhan Beleniuk will be one of them.
Zhan Beleniuk of Ukraine wrestles with Russia’s Davit Chakvetadze (R) during their men’s Greco-Roman 85kg wrestling Gold medal event at the 2015 European Games in Baku on June 14, 2015. (AFP)
Beleniuk told the Kyiv Post that he was in good spirits but that his coach has forbidden him to talk to the press ahead of the games. He said that in the run-up to the games he is devoting as much of his time as possible to training.
But another Ukrainian star, the individual rhythmic gymnast Anna Rizatdinova, who has already won two golds this year at the World Cup in Lisbon and at the International Tournament in France, shared her excitement ahead of the competition in Rio.
“This is like… a dream, a goal that forces to wake up every day and go to the gym. I hope to win, because I put so much effort into this, and sacrificed a lot for it – I’ve dedicated my whole life to professional sport,” Rizatdinova told the Kyiv Post.
The gymnast said she was confident that Ukrainians would bring home lots of medals from the Rio games. She said the Ukrainian team shares the patriotic mood of the whole country, and will do their best to bring glory to Ukraine.
“I believe that 2016 will be a breakthrough year for all of us Ukrainians,” the gymnast said.
Ukrainian gold medalist Nataliya Pryschepa poses after winning the Women’s 800m final during the European Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam, on July 9.
With 65 athletes, track and field makes up the largest part of the Yellow and Blues, and includes Rivne-born Natalia Pryschepa, who on July 9 dedicated her European Championship victory in the 800 meters in Amsterdam to Ukraine.
Ukrainian fencers also will be serious competitors in Rio. The leader of the Ukrainian fencing team, Olga Kharlan, has won bronze at the European Championship in Poland in June.
“This tournament will be completely different from that of four years ago – the speed has changed and the rules have changed. The fencer’s duels will be very dramatic and entertaining during these Olympics,” Kharlan said in comment made to the xsport.ua news website.
Olga Kharlan of Ukraine reacts as she competes in the women’s individual sabre final at the European championship, in Strasbourg, eastern France, on June 9, 2014. (AFP)
Hunger Games
Former pole jumper and Head of Ukraine’s Olympic Committee Serhiy Bubka said that to prepare Ukrainian athletes for the games the committee has allocated around $2 million to the Olympic sports federations of Ukraine for proper training, and bought special equipment needed by athletes for around $700,000.
For participating in the games every Ukrainian athlete will get a Hr 7,500 ($300) award.
The team will fly to Rio on July 23, following a farewell ceremony on Sophiyska Square in Kyiv. In Rio de Janeiro, the Ukrainians will live and train in the Olympic village along with the other athletes.
The Olympics have turned out to be a trial for Brazil as well. UK newspaper the Financial Times reported on July 7 that the authorities of the host city had to ask for extra financing of $1.6 billion, bringing the total cost of the games to $4.5 billion.
The country is in the middle of its second year of recession, according to the FT. Oxford University experts quoted by the Financial Times said that Olympic host city Rio de Janeiro is struggling with a financial crisis and now has only a limited ability to pay salaries to police or to pay to keep hospitals open.
On top of that, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is fending off attempts by her political foes to have her impeached.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus epidemic has also caused concerns ahead of the Rio Olympics. UK newspaper the Guardian reported earlier that more than 100 health experts have written an open letter to the International Olympic Committee asking that it postpone the competition due to the increased risk of spreading the Zika virus, which has been linked to birth defects, worldwide.
Although the Brazilian authorities have said there is little chance of contracting the Zika Virus at the time when the Olympics is being held, Brazil’s winter months, the Ukrainian Health Ministry has recommended that athletes and visitors to the games take the maximum precautions. Health experts recommended that Ukrainian athletes get vaccinated against yellow fever, wear clothes that can protect them from mosquitos, and not leave the Olympic village unless there is an emergency.
The Ukrainian team compete in the Women’s Synchronised Swimming Free Combination Final at the European Aquatics Championships in London on May 12. (AFP)
