Photo: Alex Davidson/Getty Images for International Paralympic Committee
Ukrainian athletes won more medals than ever at the at the2022 Winter Paralympics, amid theRussian invasionof their country.
Ukrainian cross-country skier and biathlete, Dmytro Suiarko, admitted he had a hard time focusing because of the turmoil in his homeland.
“Very hard concentration is needed in biathlon and I missed twice because yesterday my house where I live, it was bombed and destroyed,” said Suiarko, 25, per NBC. Despite the devastating distraction, he won one gold and one bronze medal for cross-country skiing, as well as two bronzes in the biathlon.
Valerii Sushkevych, president of the Ukrainian Paralympic delegation, told reporters that his country’s attendance at the event was “a miracle” in itself,The Guardianreported.
Persevering to not only perform, but dominate, Sushkevych stressed, “Not coming here would have been taking the easy option. Our presence at the Paralympics is a sign that Ukraine is and will remain a country.”
MOHD RASFAN/AFP via Getty
China came in first place in the overall medal count at the 2022 Winter Paralympics with 61 medals including 18 golds, according to thefinal results. Canada followed in third place with 25 medals, and the U.S. took fourth with 20 medals total.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin, 69, insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy, 44, vowed not to bend. “Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,” he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
