2023-11-06 14:13:44
Twin sisters Maryna and Vladyslava are the stars of Ukraine’s Olympic medal-winning artistic swimming team, which returned to this major northeastern city to train, despite its proximity to the front and regular bombing.
Published on: 06/11/2023 – 1:13 p.m.
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Air raid sirens blare as artistic swimmers Maryna and Vladyslava Aleksiïva rest on their only day off in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Their rigorous training program should take them all the way to the Paris Olympics.
After the Russian invasion, the team moved to Italy, then to Kiev, before returning to Ukraine’s second city, where the situation is more tense than in the capital, but where their relatives and friends live.
« Sometimes during air alerts we are a little worried about what is happening Vladyslava admitted. ” We feel like it’s war “, she explains to AFP.
« There was a lot of bombing last winter. We’ll see what happens. But for now we stay in Kharkiv », continues Vladyslava.
On a recent Sunday, the only day they don’t work out, the 22-year-old twins had coffee with Vladyslava’s 23-year-old husband, Kyrylo. They then went to Maryna’s apartment.
Vladyslava, who got married in February, lives in the building next door. At Maryna’s house, a collection of medals is displayed on a table, including her team’s bronze from the Tokyo Olympics.
« No matter the war »
« This is truly the most important moment of our lives. », underlines Vladyslava, sitting with her sister cross-legged on the sofa. “ No matter the war », Adds Maryna, the two sisters each finishing each other’s sentences.
Their team hopes to qualify for the Olympics in less than nine months in the women’s discipline, formerly known as synchronized swimming.
Their training pool in Kharkiv was damaged in September by a Russian missile and the blown-out window panes have yet to be replaced. There is also no generator in case the central heating goes out, but the pool itself has remained intact.
« The water is hot », says Maryna. “ You can train as long as you want Vladyslava added.
« There is nobody. This is why our coach really likes this place. », concludes Maryna, as an air alert siren sounds between her sentences.
« It’s usual. Every day there are maybe five or six. At night too », said Maryna calmly.
Sometimes during training they heard explosions and had to ” running around the basement in wet swimsuits ».
« Lottery… »
The coach of the Ukrainian team for more than twenty years, Svitlana Saidova, is from Kharkiv. She left the city after the war started, but has since returned.
A childhood photo in Maryna’s kitchen shows Svitlana with a group of young swimmers. The twins pose in the front row, clutching medals.
The Aleksiïva sisters began practicing this sport when they were children, under the guidance of a local trainer, Maryna Krykounova, who today designs swimsuits for them. “ When they entered the pool and I saw them, I was sure they would be future stars, because they were tall for their age, slim, with great posture, shape and long legs “, she remembers.
The International Olympic Committee has not yet made a final decision on whether Russians will be able to participate in the Paris Olympics.
« We haven’t met the Russian national team since the start of the war and we hope we won’t see them again », tranche Maryna.
But there is another thing that also worries them in view of the competition. Artistic swimming has adopted a new scoring system intended to promote greater objectivity, focused less on artistic performance and more on technical achievements.
For Maryna Krykounova, it is a “ lottery ».
« It looks very unartistic and clumsy », asserts Maryna Aleksiïva, saying she fears that the less good teams will win.
« We have to do everything possible and impossible to make the judges react to everything we have included in our program, so that everything is perfect », underlines for her part Vladyslava. “ We will do everything possible to achieve this ».
(With AFP)
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