Ukraine: After the start of the war he had to flee Ukraine, which took him three days to do by car. World champion high jumper Yaroslava Mahuchikh has no idea how long the comeback will take.
Mahuchikh heard gunshots on his way out and sometimes saw shells falling from afar. Although her hometown of Dnipro was far from the place where the Russian invasion was taking place, she could never overcome the worry that she might have seen them for the last time to bid farewell to her parents, grandfather and sister.
"When the war is going on," said Mahuchikh, "it is too complicated to say that any city is safe."
The 20-year-old is in Eugene, Oregon, for the Track and Field World Athletics Championships, four months after that grueling journey to cross the border into Serbia. Because her main rival, three-time world champion Maria Lasitskain, is Russian and unable to compete because of the war, she is a gold medal favorite on Tuesday.
She claimed that while their friendship has always been friendly, it was never particularly warm. It can never be fixed at this point. Mahuchikh referred to a recent open letter from Lasitskan, in which she criticized Seb Coe of the World Athletics Federation and Thomas Bach of the International Olympic Committee, saying "she wrote that she cannot compete because she is Russian." And because they are Ukrainians, our people perish. I don't want to see killers on the track. Because those supporting this war are mainly assassins, many players.
Many coaches and athletes have enlisted in the military to defend our country; Some are stationed in dangerous areas while others are killed or imprisoned. In many cities, sports infrastructure has been destroyed. Mahuchikh said that we are not able to take training in our country. Mahuchikh, who won a bronze medal in every junior competition since 2017 and last year's Tokyo Olympics, won indoor championships gold. There was more involved than just jumping high. She said, "I realized that on the track and in the jump, I can demonstrate the strength and determination of the entire Ukrainian nation." "I can show the world that we will fight till the bitter end. Until we win. Mahuchikh wishes to return home with that gold medal one day.
Russia bombards Ukrainian cities and claims to be stepping up operations
Russian troops killed over 350 children in Ukraine
Russian shelling in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, 7 killed