“The war deprived us of at least one whole generation of athletes,” says Vadym Gutcajt (52), head of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee. The luckier ones were able to flee before the war and train elsewhere. However, at least 487 hopes were tragically extinguished because of the Russians.
Record marathon – Serhij Pronevyč (†31)
A fit athlete ran a marathon in full military armor (!) in 4 hours and 36 minutes, which is a Ukrainian record. He joined the resistance, but was captured, tortured and executed by the Russians shortly after the start of the war in his home village of Boromlja.
Serhij Pronevyč was tortured by the Russian occupiers and later executed. • Photo Profimedia.cz
Grenade handball – Oleksandr Perepelica (†26)
He loved handball, but he loved Ukraine even more. He joined the Azov regiment, where over time he became the commander of the artillery unit. Exactly one year ago, however, he was mortally wounded in the woods near Luhansk.
Oleksandr Perepelica gave his life for his homeland. • Photo Profimedia.cz
He conquered Europe – Volodymyr Androschuk (†22)
The national decathlon champion made it to the top six of the old continent at the 2020 European Youth Championship. At the beginning of the war, he was called to the front, where he also died in January 2023 in the Battle of Bachmut.
Volodymyr Androschuk was the national champion in the decathlon. • Photo Profimedia.cz
They murdered the family – Kateryna Djačenková (†11)
A little gymnast was killed by a Russian airstrike on a block of flats in Mariupol. A wall fell in front of the mother’s eyes on little Kateryna and her father. The rest of the family was taken to the hospital, but the Russians dropped a bomb on it too, killing them all.
Little gymnast Kateryna Djačenko was killed by a Russian airstrike on a block of flats in Mariupol. • Photo Profimedia.cz
Submachine gun instead of cord – Fedir Jepifanov (†18)
An up-and-coming fencer who regularly won domestic championships, shortly after coming of age he traded the cord for real weapons. He fell as a volunteer defending the homeland in the first days of the Russian invasion.
Fedir Jepifanov paid for a promising fencer. • Photo Profimedia.cz
After the sniper raid – Alina Perehudovová (†14)
At the age of 13, she won the national weightlifting championship, but a year later she was killed by the Russians during a raid on the city of Mariupol. She and her mother were buried in the rubble of the house. And the brother who ran to help them was taken down by a sniper.
Alina Perehudova died in a Russian raid on the city of Mariupol. • Photo Profimedia.cz
Kateryna Tabašnyková, a medalist from last year’s HME, cries in the bombed-out sports center in her native Kharkiv.
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