Thibaud Hue, edited by Solène Leroux
modified to
11:13 p.m., May 13, 2022
Almost 80 days of war in Ukraine. At all costs, young athletes continue to train there, despite the Russian invasion. A delegation of teenagers aged 15 to 18 has also arrived in France to participate in the Gymnasiade, an international competition between high school students, which will be held in Normandy from this Sunday. Part of the Ukrainian delegation was received Friday afternoon at the Élysée. Europe 1 was able to meet several of these young people. They arrived by bus from Lviv, an exceptional long journey of 1,500 kilometers organized by the NGO Acted and the National School Sports Union, so that these young Ukrainians could take part in the meeting.
“Happy to represent Ukraine in these difficult times”
Among them, Nazir, sixteen years old. He does breakdance and he is relieved because he thought he couldn’t come to the competition because of the war. “I am very happy to represent Ukraine in these difficult times”, he assures the microphone of Europe 1. “I really believe that we can win. And I hope to bring victory to Ukraine . Not for me, but for the country.”
While waiting for the competition, he trains with his teammates at the National Institute of Sport, Expertise and Performance, Insep in Paris. A chance for Nazir who continued to dance in Ukraine under very difficult conditions. “Where I train, there is a military center. So I train at home, in the bomb shelter,” he says. He admits to wanting to “stay here as long as [qu’il peut]”.
A breath of oxygen
Oleg, his coach, agrees. Far from the war, this trip to France is a real breath of fresh air. “When you are outside the country, you feel more relaxed, over there, there is a lot of stress”, describes the coach. “Here, we feel safe. It’s a great chance for us to continue to represent our country during the war. We are lucky,” he says.
See you Sunday in Deauville for the start of the competition for these 37 young Ukrainians, who will start the competition far from bombs and war.