Ukrainian athletes showed defiance on Tuesday as they unveiled the country's uniform for the 2024 Paris Olympics, a competition marred by geopolitical tensions after Russia's invasion two years ago.
Since February 2022, war has hit every segment of Ukrainian society, including the country's sports world, which has lost hundreds of athletes.
On Tuesday, some of the athletes who qualified for the Olympics posed at a show in Kiev wearing pale yellow outfits with blue wheat stalks and Ukrainian tridents.
“Seeing the new uniforms, the colors of our wartime flag, I was just moved to tears,” said Vadim Gutzeit, president of the Ukrainian Olympic Committee.
The tournament is set to kick off on July 26 with a spectacular opening ceremony on the Seine River, marking the first time the Summer Games will kick off outside the main stadium.
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“When they appear at the opening ceremony, the whole of Ukraine will cheer. It will send a message to the whole world, to all of us, that we survived,” Gutzeit said.
About 3,000 athletes took up arms to defend their country, of which 479 were killed.
Kiev has been pushing for a ban on Russian and Belarusian teams from the Olympics and scored a partly symbolic victory after the International Olympic Committee decided to allow only “neutral” athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympics, under certain conditions.
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“The sports field is extremely important now because it's an opportunity for Ukraine to tell the world about its problems, about the war that is happening here,” said Ukrainian judoka Daria Bilodid.
The two-time world judo champion and bronze medalist in the 48 kg category at the 2020 Tokyo Games added that the Olympics are an opportunity to celebrate Ukraine in the sporting world.
“We are doing everything we can to glorify Ukraine, to make it known to the whole world, to win medals and let the whole world know that Ukraine is the strongest,” Bilodid, 23, added.
