The Olympic Games in Paris will begin in a few weeks. But how can you concentrate on sport when there is a war raging just outside the door? Visit to the training base near Kiev, where Ukrainian athletes prepare for more than just medals.
Iryna Koljadenko looks a bit tired. The wrestler has been training intensively at the Olympic base in Koncha Saspa near Kiev for a week. But that’s not the only reason: “At around three there was an air alarm again and I lay awake in bed for hours afterwards,” says the current European champion in the weight class up to 65 kilograms. “Even two years after the Russian invasion, I still can’t get used to the warning sirens.”