By Takaki Tominaga,
Ukrainian athletes won seven medals including three gold in biathlon Saturday, the first day of competition at the Beijing Paralympics, after a difficult journey to reach China following Russia's invasion of their home country.
Some said it is difficult to be in China competing when they think of their families left in Ukraine, but they are proud to represent their country on the world stage in such a tough time.
The three gold medals put Ukraine atop the Beijing Paralympic medal table on Saturday, a position of prominence that brings some light at a time of darkness for the nation.
"I tried thinking about the competition, but today it's difficult. (What's) more important is life. It's our people, our children," said Grygorii Vovchynskyi, 33, a biathlete with upper limb deficiency.
"I can dedicate this race to Ukraine, for peace (for the) people in Ukraine," said Vovchynskyi, after grabbing gold in the men's sprint standing at the National Biathlon Centre in Zhangjiakou, northern China.
His friend Keiichi Sato of Japan, who finished 11th in the race, said they were discussing earlier in the day that they hoped to give a good performance to promote peace in the world.
"Other athletes were also saying that they hope their performance would help stop the war too. After all, it is a festival of peace and I hope we will bring good races," Sato, 42, said after the event.
Oksana Shyshkova from Kharkiv, one of the cities worst hit by Russian military aggression, won the women's sprint vision impaired and told reporters, "It is difficult to compete here when friends, relatives, family members are sitting in the basement in Ukraine and hearing the bombs."
"I hope the whole world can unite and have peace in Ukraine and in the world," said Shyshkova, 30, who also won two gold medals at the 2018 Pyeongchang Paralympics.
Liudmyla Liashenko, whose family still remains in the country, won silver in the women's sprint standing and said, "I am really glad that I finished and brought this medal to Ukraine."
"I'm trying to defend my country here. I'm trying to show my best results here to represent Ukraine here like our army does in Ukraine, like everyone who is in Ukraine is now trying to defend our motherland," said the 28-year-old, whose left arm is affected by a congenital developmental condition.
Besides those Ukraine nationals, another athlete who has roots in the Eastern European country collected a biathlon gold on Saturday.
U.S. Paralympic star Oksana Masters, who won two gold medals in road cycling at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, bagged her first gold of the Beijing Games.
"I use sports for me to be able to tell my story and just to show what the human spirit and what the body can do, regardless of every single adversity and setback that's set in front of you. Just to keep pushing through it," Masters said after winning the women's sprint sitting.
She was born in Ukraine just a few hours from Chernobyl, where a major nuclear accident occurred in 1986. Her mother's exposure to radiation from living nearby is believed to have been a factor in her lower limb impairment.
The 32-year-old tweeted earlier this month, "I've always been proud of where I come from. And I can't wait to race for the two countries that make me whole."
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Paralympians voice support for Ukraine ahead of 2022 Games
