Wed, Feb 28, 2024 page7

• Ukrainian Paralympians remain defiant despite war

  • AFP, PARIS
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  Two years of war in Ukraine has taken its toll on its people, including those preparing for the Paris Paralympics, such as triple world champion swimmer Danylo Chufarov, who said it has had a “massive impact” on his health.

  Ordinarily Chufarov, fellow swimmer Mykhailo Serbin — only 20 but already a Paralympics gold medalist — and 2016 Paralympic fencing champion Andrii Demchuk would be spearheading Ukraine’s bid to emulate their third place in the medals’ table eight years ago.

  However, these are extraordinary times where even training normally is a challenge.

  

  Ukraine’s Danylo Chufarov competes in a Tokyo Paralympic Games men’s 400m freestyle heat at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Aug. 27, 2021.

  Photo: Reuters

  Chufarov, 34, eventually escaped with his wife, Yaryna, from the city of Mariupol before it was taken by the Russians, but it came at a high personal cost.

  “Our house was destroyed in fire, as well as the house where I grew up,” he said.

  Chufarov and Serbin have remained in Ukraine, while Demchuk says he has “less time to train,” but has accepted an invitation from a club in Warsaw and the Polish national team, too.

  

  Ukraine’s Andrii Demchuk reacts after competing against China’s Tian Jianquan in the Tokyo Paralympic Games men’s sabre individual in Chiba, Japan, on Aug. 25, 2021.

  Photo: Reuters

  Chufarov rediscovered his old form — he won a silver and bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics — to dominate in the worlds in Manchester, England, last year.

  However, he said the memories of what he experienced in Mariupol remain with him.

  Chufarov said that he and his wife “repeatedly came under artillery shelling, and also found ourselves in buildings hit by various types of weaponry.”

  “The main goal of each new day was to stay alive,” he said. “That period had a massive impact on our health.”

  “It was associated not only with stress and constant psychological overload, but also with insufficient sleep, little food, and a lack of drinking water. During that time, all thoughts were focused solely on survival,” Chufarov said.

  “Those who managed to survive became different people, and this cannot be changed,” he added.

  Chufarov did not train for nearly six months after he escaped from Mariupol, because “it seemed to have no significance” — and even when he did return to the pool the war was never far away.

  “Air raid sirens and frequent missile attacks at certain periods made it impossible to attend the pool and gym,” he said.

  Serbin also experienced “10 days of constant shelling” in Kharkiv before leaving for another city, but he and his coach struck a defiant note, deciding to stay in Ukraine.

  “My coach and I were of the same mind: ‘We stay, we work, and we win, no matter what,’” he said.

  “So I don’t regret staying in Ukraine. Maybe it’s a kind of internal protest against leaving my home and fleeing without knowing where, like many people do,” Serbin said.

  “Who can know what will be there, what trials await us? Home is always better,” he added.

  Serbin — who is also a double world champion — said his family fully supported him as “they did not want me to give up the cause of my whole life.”

  However, by staying his training has been regularly interrupted.

  “Recently, we arrived for training and at that moment, a rocket attack on the city began,” he said. “We had to descend into the bomb shelter and wait there for the end of the shelling.”

  A few days later the shelling started before he left home “and I did not know if I could come to training on time.”

  He says such violent disruption to his training routine has become “the reality of life.”

  Demchuk has made his own contribution to the war effort by visiting soldiers left maimed by Russian attacks.

  “For me, it was primarily about communication, and I tried to make soldiers trust me and talk to me about amputation, prosthetics, sports and my teaching at the university,” he said.

  “In my opinion, the biggest problem is that soldiers who have lost limbs must understand how to live on and that life is possible and almost problem-free,” Demchuk said.

  Demchuk’s immediate goal is next month’s European Fencing Championships in France where a medal would mean even more than usual.

  “The war adds an additional emotional context,” the 36-year-old said. “Every medal almost always comes with tears in my eyes, because you understand that many of your relatives and friends will not see this victory and will not be able to celebrate with you.”

  “You understand that any victory is important for Ukraine now, both on the front lines and here in our sports sphere,” he added.
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