On Saturday, March 5, the first day of 2022 Beijing Paralympic Games, Ukrainian athletes opened the score by grabbing three gold, three silver, and one bronze medal. Ukraine leads the medals table at the end of Day 1.
Grygoriy Vovchynsky won the first gold medal for Ukraine at the para biathlon men’s sprint standing event – and dedicated his medal to his home country afterward.
“It’s very important for us in Ukraine. Today, I represented my country. It’s a difficult time, I am worried and afraid,” he said after the race. “I was thinking before the race, I must try to do everything for Ukraine. I must think about war, about my country, about my people, about my President.’
“I love sport, but today I ran because I want life in Ukraine to move to the future,” he said. He added that when the war began, he “cried every day,” wondering what he could do.
