“No War Can Break Our Will To Win” – Ukrainian Athlete Tetyana Melnyk On Training For The Olympics In Wartime
This isn’t Ukrainian athlete Tetyana Melnyk’s first time participating in the Olympic Games. The track and field sprinter and hurdler has previously represented her country at the games in Japan in 2020 and Brazil in 2016, even winning fifth spot for the 400m relay that year.
However, this year’s games, scheduled to begin in Paris on 26 July, are unlike any other she has had to prepare for. For one, much of her training over the last two years took place against a backdrop of explosions and air alarms. “In 2016 and 2020, when I participated in the Olympic Games, the situation was completely different,” Melnyk says. “Back then, we could focus solely on preparation and performances. We had the support of our coaches and the safety of home. Unfortunately, this year everything has changed drastically due to the war in Ukraine.”
Since the start of a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, sports have taken a backseat for many athletes. Melnyk, who hails from the central Ukrainian province of Kirovohrad Oblast, explains: “Many of our sports facilities have been destroyed or damaged, and we don’t have access to full training infrastructure. Our coaches and support teams are scattered around the world, as some have left the country for the safety of their families.”
Shockingly, 479 Ukrainian athletes have been killed in combat and several thousand more are listed in the army or on the frontlines. As a result, Ukraine is only sending 140 participants to this year’s Games – the smallest team in the country’s history.
Meanwhile, training under the shadow of the Russian bombs has not been easy for those participating. “Frequent air raids and shelling mean that I spend a lot of time in bomb shelters, interrupting the training process and making it ineffective,” Melnyk says, recalling one training session when a Russian ballistic missile hit near the sports facility where she was training. “There was no alarm that day, and the missile flew over the arena, exploding nearby,” she adds.
08.08.2024
Other times, Melnyk has been flung out of her bed at night because of the shockwaves of explosions nearby. “I can’t sleep normally or recover after training because of nightly alarms. There’s no certainty and a missile could hit my house at any time.” Even when she’s travelling abroad for competitions, she constantly worries about her family back home. “There’s no safe place in Ukraine,” she says.
The mounting personal losses have taken a toll. “Many of my friends died in the war, and now my sister’s husband has been missing, which has been distress for the family,” she says. “Psychologically, it’s hard to endure: the death of friends, constant missile attacks, sitting in bomb shelters for five hours in a bomb shelter and then going for training – it’s all very draining, and you’re constantly under stress,” she says, adding that sometimes it seemed “there was no point in continuing”.
But Melnyk has never been one to shy away from a challenge. When the invasion happened, many of her colleagues and even her coach fled the country with their families. At first, she says she felt as if “all my sports dreams were shattered”. But she resumed training within weeks. “I couldn’t give up,” she says. “Returning to trainings became my way of fighting for my life.”
Melnyk derives her strength from the memory of those who died defending her country. “Their sacrifice reminds me of the importance of continuing to fight for our values and freedom. They gave their lives so we could live and have the opportunity to achieve our dreams, and I feel an obligation to honour their memory with my work and achievements,” she says, adding that the resilience of her people and the support of her family also inspires her. “I also feel a great responsibility to the younger generation of Ukrainians,” she continues. “It’s important for them to see that we are strong and can succeed even under the hardest conditions.”
Despite all the challenges, Melnyk looks forward to the upcoming Olympic Games with hope. “This year’s Olympics will be significantly different from the previous ones. It will be a test of the resilience and spirit of Ukrainian athletes,” she says.
“We are competing for the pride for our country, remembering those who gave their lives for our freedom. We are fighting not only for medals, but to show the world that no war can break our will to win.”
Ruchi Kumar is a freelance journalist based in India. She has previously lived and worked in Kabul, Afghanistan, and writes about the region for publications including The Guardian, Foreign Policy and NPR
