Since the beginning of the year, our athletes have won 3,467 awards: 1,398 gold, 1,023 silver, and 1,046 bronze medals at official international competitions in Olympic, non-Olympic and disabled sports. 

"Despite everything, this year our athletes showed incredible results.

I am proud of each and every one, thanks to whose victories in different countries of the world our national anthem sounds and the flag of Ukraine is raised.

Every victory reminds people of our country and our struggle for independence," says the President of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine, Minister of Youth and Sports Vadym Gutzait. 

Athletes of all national national teams participated in more than nine hundred international competitions during the war.

"The war became a challenge for everyone.

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, set us the task of preserving sports.

On February 24, many athletes were abroad - at competitions and meetings.

But there were also athletes who remained in the war zone in their cities or at training bases," Vadim Gutzait recalls. 

Ukrainian biathlete Daria Blashko is one of those who had to come under fire.

Daria Blashko with her coach Volodymyr Makhlayev 

"During the break between the Olympic Games and the next stage of the World Cup, we were at our base in Chernihiv," says Darya.

- We had time to train for two days, and the war began.

On the first day, my trainer Volodymyr Makhlayev and I managed to stand in a long line to withdraw cash and buy products.

This gave us the opportunity to stay in the basement for 9 days.

The explosions were very close: we thought that all the windows would be blown out.

Then the light went out, we were left without heating, water supply and could not prepare food.

It was impossible to stay there." 

Chernihiv Olympic Educational and Sports Center, damaged by shelling 

There was no mobile connection.

There was no information on exactly how to leave the war zone.

The coaches decided to leave through the city of Bobrovytsia. 

"The employees of the base, whom we got to know better in the basement, lived there.

They invited us to their home.

But the war also reached there.

When we were in the house, they started shelling the whole area, and our windows were broken.

The coach's minibus was also damaged.

Then we were sheltered by other people, including employees of our base.

On March 11, we witnessed a terrible shelling.

I don't know what exactly the Russians bombed with, but they just burned everything, everything ignited like matches.

I could not imagine that one day I would have to see such a thing.

By some miracle, we managed to go to the west of the country, stopping at our sports acquaintances on the way," Daria recalls.

Photo taken by Daria during evacuation from Chernihiv Oblast

"Part of the people managed to be relocated to safer regions of Ukraine.

We have resolved the issue of staying at our training bases not only for athletes and coaches, but also for their families.

Even under such circumstances, the task was to create conditions for further preparation and participation in the planned competitions.

Some of our athletes were abroad when the war started.

And we had to work out the logistics of their movement and stay.

We received unprecedented support from our colleagues from abroad.

More than forty countries of the world hosted our athletes and coaches at their bases, at their own expense!

" - says Vadym Gutzait.

Currently, Darya Blashko is in Slovenia with her team at a training session: "For three months I couldn't come to my senses and couldn't train.

Some sounds of cars reminded me of military planes and helicopters firing at us.

I was afraid of bursts of fireworks.

My rifle burned with our beautiful base in Chernihiv, and the second box was damaged in the trainer's car.

But now everything is getting better!

Both I and our entire team are motivated more than ever for the best results, and we will do everything for it!”

During the war in Ukraine, 149 sports facilities were already damaged, 28 of them were completely destroyed.

The most famous of them are the pool "Neptune" in Mariupol, the pool of the sports complex of NTU "KhPI" in Kharkiv, a cycling complex with a specialized track in Lyman, the stadium "Metalist" in Kharkiv, the ice palace in Severodonetsk.

The amount of damages currently reaches more than two hundred million US dollars.    

"Already six months after the start of the war, in cities far from hostilities, we began to resume work at sports facilities taking into account security requirements and measures.

In particular, Kyiv and Lviv region actively host athletes from all over Ukraine, where all-Ukrainian competitions in various sports are held.

It is important for us that Ukrainian athletes train and show good results in qualifying competitions for the Olympic Games - 2024," says Vadym Gutzait.

Meeting with the women's weightlifting team of Ukraine after a triumphant performance at the 2022 European Championship

The results of this war year were successful: at the 11th World Games in Birmingham (USA), the Ukrainian national team achieved its best result in history — third place in the medal count.

At the World Chess Olympiad in Chennai, India, the women's national team of Ukraine took first place among 160 countries of the world.

Our De-Olympians became absolute champions and set a historical record, winning 138 medals, and the Paralympic team won silver in Beijing. 

"Now our athletes are looked at in a completely different way: with more respect and as worthy competitors," Vadim Gutzait assures.

- Apparently, having seen our will to win, the conditions in which we train (without light, sometimes in shelters), the world sports association supported us on the diplomatic front as well: in blocking the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions, as well as the exclusion of representatives of Russia and Belarusians from the governing bodies of international sports organizations".

More than 100 international federations and associations applied restrictions (136 sanctions) to exclude the Russian Federation and Belarus from international sports organizations, and also deprived them of the right to organize and hold international level competitions on their territories.

"I constantly communicate with my colleagues from different countries, the leadership of the IOC, many national federations and Olympic committees of other countries.

I always explain why it is impossible to allow representatives of aggressor countries to speak at international competitions and represent their states.

In most cases, we manage to get support.

But Russia is too big and its representatives have leading positions in many international sports organizations.

Therefore, sometimes we cannot do anything against their decisions.

But we continue our struggle, and the ministry monitors and updates the list of sanction measures every day," Vadim Gutzait assures.

The Ukrainian side emphasizes that until the end of the war in Ukraine, Russian and Belarusian athletes do not have the right to compete in international competitions, even under a neutral flag.

And while there is a war in our country and people are being killed, sport cannot be outside of politics. 

"Today, almost 3,000 of our athletes and coaches are defending our country with weapons in their hands in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Unfortunately, by now more than 190 have died, 12 have been injured, says Vadym Gutzait.

"Together with our army, the Ukrainian people and Ukrainian athletes have a strong motivation: to demonstrate our strength and indomitability to the whole world."