Despite grappling with heartbreak following Russia’s
invasion of their homeland, the yellow and blue team dug deep to net two golds,
four silver and three bronze medals on day four in Beijing.
In a show of girl power on international women’s day, Iryna
Bui achieved her lifetime dream of Paralympic gold, sharing the podium with
team-mates Oleksandra Kononova and Liudmyla Liashenko in the standing middle
distance biathlon race.
“We are here to fight for Ukraine, with Ukraine and in the
name of Ukraine,” the 26-year-old Bui told reporters.
Kononova said that even though she is physically in China
competing, mentally she is still back home.
“All my thoughts, my heart and my soul is with my family and
with my child,” the 31-year-old said.
“Emotionally it’s very difficult to focus and to concentrate
on the race and the competition, so this is the most difficult Paralympic Games
for me.”
Liashenko’s home in Kharkiv, which is under heavy bombing,
was destroyed Monday which caused her to pull out of her cross-country race,
team spokeswoman Nataliia Harach said.
The United Nations estimates 1.7 million Ukrainians have
fled the country as part of the fastest growing refugee crisis since World War
II.
Anastasiia Laletina, 19, pulled out of her biathlon middle
distance sitting race on Tuesday morning after receiving bad news from home,
Harach said.
“Her father is a soldier in the Ukrainian army and (was
taken) prisoner by Russian soldiers. They beat him,” Harach said.
“She was very upset and couldn’t take part in the race.”
Harach added that Laletina was resting and receiving support
from the team’s doctor.
She added a Ukraine team coach’s home in Kharkiv had also
been bombed in recent days.
Members of the Ukraine team celebrates with their country’s
flag after winning the mens middle distance vision impaired para biathlon
final event on March 8, 2022, at the Zhangjiakou National Biathlon Centre
during the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games. (Photo by Mohd Rasfan / AFP)
‘I am shaking’
Ukraine’s athletes at the Paralympics have excelled despite
the uncertainty and destruction back home.
In Tuesday’s men’s visually impaired biathlon race,
Ukrainians took all three medals, led by winner Vitalii Lukianenko, 43.
Also in biathlon, Grygorii Vovchynskyi nailed silver in the
men’s standing final after winning gold in the sprint event earlier in these
Paralympics.
In the men’s sitting event, Taras Rad added a bronze medal
to his silver from Saturday.
“I’m always thinking about my family and friends when I am
staying at the hotel… but right now talking about them I am shaking, I worry a
lot about them,” he said through an interpreter.
The Ukraine team are second in the medals table, with six
golds and 17 medals in all. Hosts China are top with eight golds.
Ukraine have more medal chances in cross-country sprint
races Wednesday and further biathlon events Friday.