Stanislav Horuna lives in Lviv, western Ukraine. From the start of the interview, conducted remotely, he wanted to be reassuring: “ Our city is safe and sound, we haven’t received any missiles here. » The 33 year old young man practices karate at a high level. World champion (kumite) in − 75 kg in 2017 in Poland, he won the bronze medal at the Tokyo Games in 2021, for the entry of the discipline into the Olympic program.
But since February 24 and the start of the war in Ukraine, Stanislav has not trained once. The champion now spends his days at the military base in Lviv. His hometown, located behind the front, serves as a logistics platform to support the regions occupied by Russian forces. “I go home to sleep, eat a little and take a shower and I leave immediately”, he testifies.
Stanislav Horuna donates his time to the organization sending humanitarian aid to the areas most affected by the conflict. “We find places to sleep for exiled people, we try to start the production of helmets and bulletproof vests, we buy weapons and ammunition to send them where the need arises”, he enumerates, while the walkie-talkie placed next to him continues to emit.
Ready to go to the front
Although he is happy to participate from the rear in the war effort, Stanislav Horuna does not hide that he would prefer to be in the front line. “Even though I have no military training, I am well trained physically, he assures. I would like to go to fight, but the commanders won’t allow me because of my lack of experience. »
In Lviv, it is his mental strength that he puts at the service of his country. A plus in this type of crisis situation. “I know how to make quick decisions at critical times, it’s very useful at the moment”, he said confidently.
Moreover, together with other Ukrainian athletes, Stanislav Horuna took part in a campaign to ask international sports organizations to ban the Russian and Belarusian delegations in competition. “We asked ourselves how we could use our influence and our reputation, he explains. For us, these countries are now the symbol of terrorism and crime. They shouldn’t be promoted in a stadium. »
Their request paid off. The 83 Russian and Belarusian athletes who were to participate in the Paralympic Games in Beijing were excluded on March 3, the day before the opening ceremony. FIFA and UEFA have also banned Russia and its clubs from all football competitions ” until further notice “, including, therefore, the 2022 World Cup, which will take place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18 – Russia has since appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The same is true in ice hockey, athletics, basketball, biathlon, etc. For Stanislav Horuna, “It’s another victory for our side”. He adds : “I understand that athletes are innocent, but this is war. The subject is not even sport. We fight and we defend ourselves in all possible ways. We no longer act as athletes but as citizens. »
“Give us ten days and we will win the war”
Stanislav Horuna is also relieved to have managed to send his 2 year old and 8 month old son and his wife to Budapest (Hungary), to know that they are safe, even if they are far from him. He assures her, he will fight if the Russian and Belarusian forces march to Lviv. And then it will be ” many simpler “ for him to do so if he does not have to worry about the lives of his loved ones at that time.
“Of course, my son doesn’t understand what’s going on, he explains. I don’t want to tell him, by the way. As I usually leave for one or two weeks for competitions or training, he does not feel that the situation is abnormal. » What if the fights last longer? “Give us ten days and we will win the war. »
Out of the question, however, for his parents to leave Lviv, to the great dismay of the karateka. “Like many people, they refuse to leave. It would be less stressful for me to know them elsewhere, he admits. If something happens here, they won’t be able to do anything. It makes no sense, but they want to stay there. » He lets out a sigh mixed with annoyance and anxiety.
Stanislav Horuna looks forward to the day when life will return to normal. Although, according to him, “this painful and costly process was bound to happen one day or another, for the country to completely emancipate itself from the influence of Russia”. The athlete refuses to give in to pessimism: “When it’s all over, Ukraine will recover and we’ll rebuild everything we lost. Now that we are united as a family, we can build a new country. » When he has the heart to return to a karate mat, Stanislav will be able to tell himself that everything is really over.
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